Avalon High
by BlackCanary3341
Summary: It's new school and a new start for Cassandra Sage-Beckett. Her family has given her an opportunity to start over at Avalon High. She makes this school one for all who need a new start. Follow her on her journey in making Avalon High the best school there can be.
1. Eyes Wide Open

Cassandra was in the backseat of her uncle's car, nervously drawing in a sketchpad. Well, she had every reason to be nervous. They were driving to a new high school that her father and her uncle had decided to construct as part of their company's education division. They named it Avalon High School and she had been placed in charge of it.

Her uncle looked at her from the mirror as he drove her to her new school and saw her nervous expression as she doodled in her sketchpad.

"Nervous, my dear?" He asked.

She looked up and sighed, "You have no idea, Uncle Lance." She ran a hand through her red hair which had some pink highlights.

"Don't be." He said.

"This is like my 4th school, from living in different countries, the Emirates, the U.S, the U.K, Kenya and I'm back again in the States. I've had to change myself a lot so people could accept me and it would mostly backfire on me. I've always felt like an outsider and I've always been treated like one. I don't know what will happen next."

Lance listened to her patiently as she spoke and then said with a smile, "Then be yourself. Let the world see you for who you truly are and then some. And since your practically the manager, treat the others well and make them belong."

Cassandra digested this advice and then smiled. 'I will,' she thought to herself.

They arrived at the new school and they parked the car at the parking lot behind the admissions office. They got out of the car and Cassandra looked in awe at the expansive campus. Lance said, "Here we are, Cass. Welcome to Avalon High. "

There were classrooms shaped like graduation caps, different hangouts for people of different cliques: Jocks, Nerds, Preps, Musicians, Artists, Slackers, Outdoors, Rebel and Class Presidents. Everyone had a place to hangout and unwind after a long day of school or in between periods. Each with its unique design. The Musican, Rebel, Slacker, Artist, Outdoors and Class President hangouts were still a work in progress though but they were coming up well.

There was a library having its finishing touches being placed and a party spot.

Lance led her to the football field and saw the bleachers nearly finished up with construction materials on the grass. The workers were working hard to get this place up and running.

Cassandra could picture herself scoring touchdown after touchdown or using the field to practice her martial arts.

"This place is gorgeous, Lance. I love it." Cassandra finally stated.

"I know it is, we had to give the best. Now it's up to you to maintain those standards, Cassandra. It's all up to you now."

Lance put an arm around his niece and Cassandra said, "I won't let you down, Lance."

Lance and Cassandra walked back to the admissions office and Lance left her there as he had to rush back to work. Cassandra looked around that beautiful place and decided to give herself a further tour of the place. She entered the classrooms and touched the mahogany desks and smelt the fresh aroma of paint. She went down the hallways and admired the brass lockers and smooth tiles on the floor.

She got out and ran around the expansive campus, loving every bit of the lush lawns and trees. After she had her fill of adventure, she went back to the front of the admissions office. She then heard the sounds of footsteps, which was odd. As far as she was concerned, she was all alone in the school. The workers had gone for lunch and no-one was meant to be here at this time.

"Hello, is anyone here?" Cassandra called out.

"Hi there." A feminine voice came from behind Cassandra. Cassandra turned around and saw a girl with tan skin, brown hair styled in an over the shoulder braid and brown eyes looking at her and giving her a sheepish smile.

"I'm Autumn. I heard that this school was opening today." She says. "It's not much to look at though," she said in a mildly disappointed tone.

Cassandra wondered, 'Hey, what did she mean by that? We are trying our best here. Pressure much?' She decided not to take it personally though and held out her hand to greet Autumn.

"It's nice to meet you, Autumn. Though, aren't you kinda trespassing?" Cassandra asked in a joking manner as she folded her arms.

"I...I wouldn't say trespassing. Call it more of exploring without consent alone," Autumn stutters.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her and Autumn said, "Okay, maybe I'm trespassing but if it's a turf war you want, I'm afraid I left my nunchucks in my other purse. Besides, I'd rather start out as friends. Or what do you think?"

Cassandra's lips formed a smile and she laughed lightly. She put an arm around Autumn and she said, "I'd rather be friends too. Call me Cassandra, my dear."

Autumn returned the smile and Cassandra asked, "So, where do you go to school, Autumn?"

"I go to Hearst High right over there," she replies, pointing to a large school down the road and she crinkled her nose at the mention of the school. "I come here a lot, to think and be alone. The guys there, they can be jerks," she continued with a sad expression on her face. "That's why I was pretty excited when I heard that there was a new school in the area opening. My dad wouldn't let me leave Hearst, being the most prestigious school in the area and all. But if this school grows and becomes better than Hearst, I'm sure my dad will let me transfer here." She says, her face lighting up with a hopeful smile.

Cassandra just listened and nodded. She then told Autumn with a coy smile, "We'll do our best. But right now, I think your lunch break is nearly over."

Autumn came to this realization. "True. I'd better go. Nice meeting you, Cassandra. See you later. " She ran off the school grounds and Cassandra just chuckled at her antics. She turned around and went to the admissions office where a girl with long wavy black hair and black almond eyes was being admitted. She was dressed in a white dress with a white headband with white flats. Cassandra made a guess that she was a prep. She greeted her and found out that her name was Brianna. After Brianna was done with her admissions, they walked towards the finished prep hangout. Brianna gushed when they entered, "OMG! This place is looking gorgeous!" She jumped up and down and twirled.

"I'm glad you like it, Bree. But we'd better go to class now, if you don't mind. "

She agreed and they went to class where they found one teacher, Mr. Olson. He was a friendly older man with spectacles and he didn't teach much, given that they were two students but they had a good lesson and gave them opportunities to express their thoughts on some of the topics they'd learned and clarified what they may not have understood.

When they were done for the day, Cassandra heard a familiar voice call out to them, "Hey, you two."

Cassandra and Brianna turned around and saw Autumn come towards them with a bounce in her step. "Hey, Autumn. You okay?"

"I'm good. How was the first day of school?"

"Not bad. Just an English lesson."

"Wow, hitting the books already? " Autumn teased.

"Well, I may be a jock and Brianna here a prep, but we know how to study." Cassandra replied with a smirk.

All of a sudden, Cassandra's phone went off with a notification. She frowned as she took her phone from the pocket of her black pants and looked at the text.

"I have a message from some girl named Kara." Cassandra said. Autumn paled at the mention of Kara.

"Oh no. That must be Kara Sinclair. She's the head cheerleader at Hearst and not someone you want to mess with. She's one of the jerks I told you about, Cassandra." Autumn informed her.

"How does she even know my number?" Cassandra asked with a confused look on her face.

"Oh, it must have been easy for her. She's an expert in rumours and blackmail."

"Of course, she would be." Cassandra groaned as she put a hand around her neck. "Let me see what she wants."

"I wouldn't go alone if I were you. She probably is with her boyfriend, Max Warren. He's the son of the principal of Hearst. Those two are really rich." Autumn warned.

"Who says I'm going alone, Autumn?" Cassandra asked rhetorically with a smirk on her face. Brianna and Autumn looked at each other then at her confusedly. "You coming?"

They smiled then they followed Cassandra to the school entrance where a tall, athletic-looking guy with short blonde hair, ocean blue eyes and some stubble on his face was waiting. He was dressed in a green letterman jacket, a black shirt, jeans and sneakers. Besides him was a girl in green cheerleading uniform and her black hair was in a ponytail with bangs. Cassandra presumed them to be Max and Kara.

"Well, well, well. Seems like Loser High got its first loser." Max called out boisterously.

"And lookie what we have here. Little Miss Quirkface. I always thought Autumn was a loser but not a traitor." Kara sneered, a hand going to her waist.

"Hey, back off! What do you have against our school anyway?" Brianna asked hands crossed on her chest.

"There's a plan for this land and it doesn't involve your crappy school." Max venomously spat.

"Tell that to Creed Enterprises, you jerks! This land is theirs." Cassandra watched smugly at their discomfort. "I don't know you two or what you're all about, but you can't go around bullying people."

Kara gave Cassandra a glare and stepped closer to her. "And what you going to do about it, dork?" Kara hissed.

"Well, I can't hit you unfortunately. With all that make-up on, it feels like you're wearing face armor." Cassandra commented.

"Excuse me?" Kara looked at her in disbelief.

"Yeah, it looks like a clown threw up on your face, chickie."

Autumn and Brianna were shaking in laughter at this point. Cassandra continued, "Honey, I don't know if you've heard, but less is more. But I guess for someone like you, you've gotta fake it till you make it."

She shrugged and looked at her friends who were laughing so hard. Kara growled in frustration and said, "This is so not funny. I won't forget this." She stomped her foot on the ground and marched off with Max in tow.

Once the laughter had died down, Autumn said, "Now you see why I don't like being at Hearst."

Cassandra narrowed her steel grey eyes at their retreating backs and agreed, "Oh, I see alright." She turned around and looked at the school with its complete and incomplete buildings. "I don't think anyone should put up with bullies like them. I'm going to make this a school where everyone can feel welcome. For those who are bullied, ignored or they just feel lost..." Cassandra trailed off remembering the numerous times she'd felt lost and alone. She thought back to her uncle's words in the car. "For all those types, they will be welcome here." She finished.

Cassandra heard Autumn sniffle and was surprised when she gave her a hug from behind. "Oh, Cassandra. I wish could transfer here."

Cassandra put her hands over Autumn's and told her, "Don't worry, Autumn. I'm sure he'll come around. We'll convince him soon enough."

Autumn let go of Cassandra and wiped her tears. "Yeah, well I have to go now. See you, Cassandra." She waved at her then Brianna and walked off.

Brianna bid Casandra goodbye as well and Cassandra was left all by her lonesome. She stood there for a few more minutes and with her eyes wavering in determination, she made a promise to herself to do right by her family and the students of this school.

 **Author's note** : _Hey guys, so I was listening to Eyes Wide Open by Sabrina Carpenter when I was writing this chapter hence the title of the story. I also got the sketchpad doodling idea from the music video of the song. I'm not sure how often I will be updating but I will do my best to update and try to finish up this story. Forgive my typos and grammatical errors if I have any. Reviews are welcome but no flames. Ideas are welcome also._ _The rating may change depending on where the story takes me._ _Also, I may change up the dialogue of the game and some scenes to suit my story. Thanks for reading! : ) Bye bye! Canary out!_


	2. Mediator

A couple of days had passed since Cassandra's confrontation with Max and Kara. She was walking around the school, pleased with the progress she had made. She had admitted a couple more students; a prep named Eric, two nerds: Dylan and Nyla, two more jocks: Ross and Seamus, two student govs: Jessica and Jacob and two gamers namely Taylor and Ashley.

She had gotten to know each one individually and talk to them. Whenever they needed her help, she offered it. No questions asked and no strings attached. That was the best way to build a rapport with each of them and make them feel welcome. She had held a Lightning Bug convention at the school and at Jessica's suggestion, began decorating the school to 'give it that pizzaz' as Jessica put it. She'd also helped Seamus compete in the Iron Warrior competition and he'd won, which had left Cassandra with that warm fuzzy feeling of being a part of someone's success.

Cassandra was walking with Jessica and Jacob who were giving her a run of things when Autumn stopped by. The other students weren't fazed by Autumn's presence in the school. They had become accustomed to it and they treated her like one of their own.

"Hey, Cassandra," Autumn called out as she ran over to the trio. They stopped and Cassandra told the two student govs, "I'll catch you two later."

They went off, leaving Cassandra and Autumn alone. "Hiya. What's up, Autumn?" Cassandra asked.

"I know we need to recruit more students to keep this place open...and I just thought of someone else we could recruit."

Autumn looked excited and Cassandra motioned for her to continue with a wave of her hands. "His name is Julian and he happens to be a star football player at Hearst. But he's been having problems there of late. I can go get him and meet at the benches. Sounds good?"

"Sure. Meet y'all in a few." Cassandra nodded. She went and sat at a bench which was near the water fountains. She loved watching the water flow and she put some music on her phone as she waited for Autumn to bring Julian over. After a wait of ten minutes, she spotted Autumn walking with a tan guy with spiky black hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a green jersey and he had a football in his hands. They came over to where she was sitting and the guy offered his hand in greeting. "The name's Julian," he introduced himself in a deep voice. "Autumn tells me you're recruiting people."

"That's right, " Cassandra affirmed as she took his hand and shook it.

"Remember Max?" Autumn spoke up.

'How could I forget him?' Cassandra thought darkly.

"He joined the team a couple weeks ago and the principal is insisting that he plays Julian's position," Autumn continued, a sad expression on her face.

"That sucks," Cassandra remarked, a dark expression crossing her face.

"Look, I didn't sign up for a share circle where we talk about our feelings," Julian scowled. "This is my problem, no-one else's."

Autumn looked at him and said, "You shouldn't have to be treated like that. No-one should. You can join Cassandra's school."

"Yeah? Well, here's the million dollar question; how's your football team?" he asked Cassandra.

When Cassandra heard this, she shuffled her feet on the ground uncomfortably and sighed. There was no getting out of this one.

"We don't exactly have a football team right now. We're just starting out as you can see," she explained, her cheeks getting red from embarrassment.

Julian gave her a look of disbelief, "You're kidding me." When Cassandra said nothing and looked at the ground, he snorted and turned to Autumn, "Autumn, you don't know me that well but I'm a football guy. What would I do here? At Hearst, I get some time at the field."

He turned to leave and Cassandra blurted out, "Doesn't mean we aren't going to start one. You could start up the team you know."

Julian turned around and quirked his eyebrow at her in interest. "Oh yeah? Know a lot about football?"

Cassandra strode over to him and placed a hand on his chest and said with a smirk, "Sweetheart, I am football."

Julian's handsome face lit up with a smirk of his own and said, "Oh yeah? Then you ready to go long?"

Cassandra jogged a few meters away from Julian and yelled back, "Always ready!"

"Then go!" He threw the ball in a perfect spiral and Cassandra ran after it and caught it effortlessly. She jogged back to where Julian and Autumn were standing and handed the ball back to Julian.

Julian took the ball and commented, "Not bad, Cassandra. But I have to say there's not enough room to throw a ball around here. I may not be Hearst High's biggest fan, but at least they have a field."

"But...," Autumn tried to interject but Julian cut her off.

"Sorry, Autumn. Gotta head back. There's a game today and there's gonna be a college scout there. You coming?"

Autumn looked unsure, "I don't know. Not a big football fan."

Julian's face looked crestfallen at this. "Oh, I get it."

Cassandra noted this and nudged Autumn, who got the message. "But I could come by, take some pictures."

His face lit up and shot her a brilliant smile. "Great, I'll see you there," and he walked off.

Cassandra watched him walk away and in a disappointed tone, said, "Sounds like he's out."

"No, I actually think we still have a shot of recruiting him. But he was right about not there being enough space," Autumn noted.

"Well, if he actually bothered to tour the place, he would have found a football field nearing completion, along with other sports facilities," Cassandra smirked.

Autumn shrugged and said, "Too late for that. We'd better buy tickets to go see Julian play."

Cassandra nodded and invited some other students to go watch the game with them at Hearst. In the afternoon, Autumn met them at the front of Hearst High, tickets in hand. She handed each of them a ticket and asked, "Ready to watch the game?"

Cassandra grinned widely and replied enthusiastically, "You know it, sweetheart!"

She put an arm around Autumn's shoulders, who laughed and they went towards the field and found seats at the bleachers. The game started and Cassandra watched the game with interest and she had to give credit where it was due; Hearst was really good. Then she noticed Julian was not on the field and took a look at the benches and noticed Julian was pacing up and down in an agitated manner. He said something to the coach and the coach shook his head.

"What's going on? Why won't the coach put him in?" Cassandra wondered.

Autumn answered sullenly, "My guess would be that the coach wants the spotlight on Max. No chance of that if Julian plays."

Cassandra narrowed her eyes and muttered, "That's bullshit."

"Don't I know it." Autumn agreed with a roll of her eyes.

They saw Max jogging towards Julian and gloat in his face. By Julian's angry expression and Max laughing, they presumed that whatever Max said had riled Julian up.

"Why do I have a bad feeling that some shit's about to go down?" Cassandra asked uneasily.

Cassandra was proven right when Julian lunged at Max and tackled him to the ground. Punches began flying and the crowd started jeering and hissing.

Autumn gasped and shouted, "We need to stop this!"

Cassandra was already on her way down to the benches and she pushed her way through the bleachers and reached where the two were, with her friends behind her. Cassandra used her strength to pull Julian off Max and the others held him back from trying to rush Max. Max stood up and tried to get at Julian but Cassandra pushed him back and she shouted at him, "Enough of this!"

"Nobody asked you to get involved! Who do you think you are?" Max demanded.

"A concerned citizen," Cassandra replied.

The referee blew the whistle and the crowd's jeers grew louder. Max yelled at Julian, "Thanks a lot, Julian! You just cost us fifteen yards!"

The coach's expression was livid and he yelled at Julian, "Vega! Hit the showers! Now!"

"Aww, got to watch that temper of yours, buddy!" Max taunted.

Julian started, "I... "

Cassandra interrupted him, "You don't need to take this. Let's get out of here."

She took his hand and led him out of the field, shooting Max one last withering glare.

They went back to Cassandra's school in sombre silence. They went to the jock hangout and then Autumn spoke, "Julian, you really shouldn't have done that. What were you thinking?"

"Okay, maybe going after him wasn't my finest moment. But Coach doesn't play me for the entire game then Max decides to laugh in my face about it?" Julian rants.

"I know you like to be this brooding, muscular guy but honestly you shouldn't have done that!"

"We can debate the past later, Autumn," Cassandra said and shot her a meaningful look to let the matter go. She nodded and sighed.

Julian took out his phone after it binged with a text and his face darkened at the contents of the text. "Great! The principal told my dad what happened and he's livid," he seethed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked at Cassandra and continued, "I can't go home right now, Cass. You have a place I can cool down?"

Cassandra nodded and led him towards the bench near the fountains and he sat. She said, "Stay as long as you need. Holla if you need anything."

"Will do. I appreciate this, Cassandra. You aren't so bad," he complimented.

Cassandra gave him a smile and went off to the admissions office to see if anymore students had enrolled. She found that she had two varsity students, Sean and Aaliyah, a female jock, Contessa and a class president, Alexia. The lady who worked there also told her that the football field had been completed and also the presidential hangouts were ready.

Cassandra rushed to the field and admired the view. She went by the Class President hangouts and greeted the new students with a hug and ensured they were settled in. After all that was done, she went back to the jock hangout and heard Autumn and Julian talking.

"You really should enroll here at Avalon. They make sure you're welcome her from day one," Autumn pressed.

Julian sighed and said with uncertainty, "I don't know Autumn. Like I said, I'm a football guy. What will I be doing here if I won't be playing football. I need to be on a team that scouts will consider."

Cassandra then cleared her throat and the duo turned around and faced her. "If I may," Cassandra started, then she faced Julian. "Julian, you'll be starting the team. I have guys willing to play but they need leadership. Give them a chance. Give this place a chance," Cassandra appealed.

Julian looked at her then Autumn who nodded earnestly. He sighed and agreed, "Okay. I'll come by tomorrow and I'll see what you guys got."

"Great," Cassandra beamed. "See you tomorrow."

The next day, Cassandra in her jock uniform led to Julian to the newly opened field, where the other players were waiting on him. Julian was awed by the size of the field and whistled. "Whoa! Not bad, Cass. You sure know how to impress a guy. But I'll be even more impressed once I see whether you guys are all talk or you can actually play ball."

"Why we standing around, then? Let's do this thing!" Cassandra enthusiastically shouted. The others cheered and Julian began arranging them into positions and ran the practice drills with them. After an rigourous hour of training, Julian called a break. Cassandra was panting heavily but she and the others went to where he was and he began making his remarks, "I have to say, I wasn't entirely sold on joining this school but I'm impressed you guys managed to keep up with me. Good work and quick thinking, especially you, Cassandra. You could be quarterback material."

"Heh, thanks," she said.

"Now, we still have a long way to go. A couple athletes running a few plays is a long way to go from a football team that can bring home a win," he continued. "You still have to work on your stamina, speed not to mention your footwork. But you know what I see in this team? Teamwork. Something Hearst forgot a long time ago. Together, we can make this school a winning team. And we'll take Hearst High down."

"Un momento," Cassandra piped in. "Does that mean that you're enrolling with us?"

He nodded, "I'd be honoured to join your school."

They all cheered at this and Cassandra gave Julian a huge hug which he returned and they laughed.

"Welcome to Avalon High, Julian. Home of the Knights." Cassandra said happily.

"Thanks," he beamed.

She led him to the admissions office for registration and Julian became the newest student of Avalon High.

 **Author's notes** : _So, I decided to change the name of the school team from Wildcats to Knights. I wasn't sold on the whole Wildcats thing. I also admitted my students in groups of two; boy and girl, hence the whole duo thing. As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames. I apologize for any grammatical errors or typos. See you next update. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	3. The First Party

A week had passed and students had been streaming into Avalon at a slow but steady rate. Cassandra was in the Jock hangout, punching away at a wooden dummy practising her martial arts while Julian was lifting weights. Autumn then came in and found Cassandra kicking and punching away.

"Hey, Cass. Hey Julian," Autumn greeted.

"Hiya, Autumn," they greeted her without stopping what they were doing.

"So, I was thinking of a way more students can be recruited to the school. How about throwing a party?" Autumn suggested.

"A party?" Cassandra repeated.

Cassandra and Julian stopped what they were doing and gave Autumn their full attention. Autumn nodded and elaborated further, "A party is a good way for different people to come together and have fun. And it's also a good way to meet new people and convince them to join the school."

Julian agreed, "I agree. It's easier to get more diversity around here that way."

"Hmm... I don't know. I mean, I'm all for the idea but I'm no party planner that's for sure," Cassandra said. "And we also need to alert the powers that be about this before it happens."

"That's fine by me, Cass. On the party planning part, I know someone who can help you on that end. But you get permission first," Autumn said.

Cassandra went and took a shower to rid her body of sweat and got dressed in simple jeans, sneakers and a black shirt. She then called her uncle to inform him of what Autumn had suggested, to which he had no objections as long as the parties were civil. She then called Autumn and asked her to bring her friend over to plan the party.

During their lunch break, Autumn came by with a dark skinned girl with curly brown hair and in a purple dress and flats. "Hey, guys. This is Payton. She goes to Hearst High with me," Autumn introduced her to them.

"Hey. So I heard you want to throw a party." She said happily. "I kinda owe Autumn a favour, so I'm all yours from here."

Cassandra gave her a once over and decided that she liked this girl already. She had this whole bubbly, cute and charismatic air about her.

"Hiya, I'm Cassandra," she offered her hand in greeting to Payton, who gave her a hug instead. They offered Payton and Autumn a seat at the lunch table.

"So, any ideas for what kind of party you wanna throw?" Payton enquired.

"Ideas?" Cassandra frowned quizzically.

"Um, yeah! Ideas, themes...whatever you wanna call it. This is your school's first party and we need to do something a-ma-zing!" Payton said with a flourish of her hands.

"Hmm... How about a masquerade ball? I've always been into wearing masks and such," Cassandra suggested.

"Ooh...sounds good! It'll be a nice change to go to a classy party for once," Autumn said.

"Yeah, hot girls love classy things," Julian agreed.

"That's not..." Autumn trailed off with a sad look on her face.

"A masquerade ball it is!" Payton interrupted. "We can totally do this thing!"

"So what happens next?" Cassandra asked.

"Well, I need to take a look at the venue, not to mention getting the word out. There's also decorating..."

"Ugh, decorating? Do I look like the type to get all colour-coordinated for a party?" Julian groaned.

"Was that even a sentence?" Autumn giggled.

The group ate lunch as they plan the details for the party with Payton's guidance. After they had eaten to their fill, Cassandra led the group to where the party would be held. "Well, here we are. This is the Party Spot," she said as they entered the spacious building. It had a DJ booth, a large podium, a snack bar, a gaming area, couches, a photo booth, a snack bar, neon lights and a dance floor. "It was built for having social events, especially for stuff like Prom and Homecoming," Cassandra explained.

The others 'oohed' and 'aaahed' over the place. Payton squealed and gushed, "I love it! But I think it should be called 'Party Central'.

"Hmm...true. I like it. I wasn't digging the name 'Party Spot'," Cassandra said thoughtfully.

"All we need now are decorations. The best parties have decorations." Payton said.

"I can order for some decorations. See if they are willing to bring them over," Cassandra offered. She called and ordered for the required decorations and they were delivered in thirty minutes.

"How's that, Payton?" Cassandra asked as they looked through the decorations.

Payton squealed in delight and replied, "Aah! I think we're all set! This is perfect!"

"Ummm... I don't think so... Hello?" Julian pipes in. "We still need to get the streamers hung up, not to mention the lighting set up to get the mood right!"

There was a silence as everyone stared at Julian. Cassandra's mouth was open and she put her hand over her mouth. She began giggling as Julian's ears turned red from embarrassment.

"Someone's excited for this party," she commented.

"Be quiet, Sage," Julian grumbled.

"There's no crime in getting in touch with your soft side. Maybe later we can bake cookies shaped like animals," Autumn teased.

Cassandra cackled at this and gave him a wink. Julian's face turned a bright red and he declared, "Okay. It's official... I am never going to decorate again." His face then softened, "For real though, are we baking cookies?"

The crew chuckled at this and they started sprucing up the place, making small talk all the while. Cassandra got to know Payton more; her love for animals, parties and music. They were soon done and they took a step back to admire their handiwork.

"So, what say you, Autumn? What do you think?" Cassandra enquired.

But Autumn wasn't paying attention as she was too busy checking her phone with a sad expression on her face. "Autumn?" Cassandra worriedly asked.

Autumn looked up and said, "Um... It's all good...it's nice," and gave a watery smile.

"Ahem! Now, we need publicity and lots of it! It needs to appeal to everyone on campus..." Payton took out her laptop and began showing them an Event page. Julian looked around and noticed that Autumn wasn't with them.

"Hey, guys. Anyone see Autumn?" He asked. Cassandra lifted her head and noticed that Autumn was gone.

"Hmm... She was acting a little bit strange earlier." Cassandra noted.

"Hey, Prep. Let me check something on Facebook," and he typed something and exclaimed, "Oh crap!"

Cassandra looked over his shoulders and saw what made him say that. "Wait, it's Autumn's birthday? Why didn't she say anything?" she wondered.

"She thinks that we forgot," Julian added.

"Maybe that's because we did?" Payton said sadly.

Julian sighed, ran his hands through his hair and bites his lower lip. "Damn. Her dad is out of town and I bet he didn't even call her."

"That explains why she was so distracted looking at her phone." Cassandra remarked with a grimace.

"She's all alone. It's not like anyone at Hearst will celebrate with her." Julian said.

"Aww!" Payton pouted. "That's sad and really, really true. Most of the people there hate her."

"Cass, we need to do something for her. I know we're busy but a birthday is only one day and I know that will mean a lot to her. So what do you say?" Julian asked, a pleading look on his face.

Cassandra nodded and said, "I'm in. No-one should celebrate their birthday alone. Autumn's a nice girl, a good girl and a better friend."

"Thanks, Cass. You're...you're pretty okay." He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

Cassandra smirked, "Save the sappiness for Autumn's birthday."

Cassandra called in Eric and Brianna to help Payton with the rest of the preparations. Cassandra and Julian then walked out of Party Central and towards the carpark.

"So what exactly are we doing for her?" Cassandra asked.

"Hmm... From what I know about her, Autumn is a 'quiet night with friends' kinda girl.

"That's shockingly sensitive of you, Julian.

Julian scowled, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." His demeanor changed into a sad one. "If I know Autumn, she's off somewhere trying to act like everything's okay, and pretending she's not actually all sad inside." He sighed. "I figure, we should surprise her when she gets back with a nice, happy birthday get-together!" He continued.

Cassandra said to herself, "...yeah, she'd like that."

They arrived at the car park and entered Cassandra's car, a black 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe. As they entered the car and sat, Julian made a suggestion, "We should also get her a present while we're at it. She's always taking these pointless black and white pictures. I figure that a nice camera will do."

Cassandra nodded and drove to the mall. They arrived and bought a camera at one of the shops there. As they walked back to the car with their purchase, Julian remarked, "Wow, 200 dollars seems like a lot for some fancy camera but if it makes Autumn happy, then it's worth it."

Cassandra asked, "So what now? We surprise her with the gift when she comes back?"

Julian shrugged, "I figure that's good, right? I mean, what else do you need on a birthday besides a gift?"

"Well, there's usually a cake..." Cassandra piped in.

Julian's face lit up in shock and exclaimed, "Crap! A cake! It's not a real birthday without a cake!"

"Chill, relax! We can grab one from the store," Cassandra said.

"No, not just any cake will do! It has to be from her favourite bakery, For Goodness Cake, which is two hours away!" Julian insisted.

Cassandra gulped, "Really?"

Julian nodded, "It might be corny, but they're the best cakes I've ever had! And Autumn loves them. Come on, Cassandra. I'll keep you company!"

They entered the car and began the two hour drive to For Goodness Cake. After thirty minutes of silence, Cassandra commented, "Wow. It's kinda quiet in here."

Julian said with sarcasm underlying in his tone, "True. I actually have some Disney songs I copied on my phone so that we could have a sing-along."

Cassandra gasped, "Really?"

"No! What is wrong with you? We are going to listen to some SportsChat!"

Cassandra laughed and Julian tuned in to the SportsChat podcast as Cassandra drove. The drive was a quiet one apart from the occasional remark on some of the sports teams mentioned in the podcast from either Julian and Cassandra.

Once they arrived, Julian grumbled, "We're here. Can you go in and grab the cake?"

"Too cool to be seen in a place called For Goodness Cake?" Cassandra teased.

Julian uncomfortably shifted in his seat and replied, "No. Maybe. Yes. Shut up."

Cassandra giggled and gave him a wink as she headed inside the shop. Cassandra ordered a banana cake with chocolate frosting, remembering Julian mentioning Autumn's favourite type of cake. The clerk asked what she wanted written on it. Cassandra replied, "Another year for our favourite artist!"

The clerk nodded and had the cake prepared. After a few minutes, Cassandra headed out with a box of cake in her hands. She hopped into the car and gave Julian the box and he took a peek inside.

"Aww, that's cute!" Julian remarked.

"Thought you'd like it, " Cassandra said as she put the car in drive and began heading back to the school. The car rumbled down the highway. Meanwhile, Cassandra pondered something and decided to ask Julian, "Can I ask you something?"

"You can try," Julian said with a scowl.

"What's the deal with you and Autumn anyway?"

"What deal? There's nothing between us," Julian replied defensively.

"Dude, come on. I haven't seen you care this much about something that didn't involve catching a ball or throwing a punch."

Julian bit his lip and sighed, "Okay. It's just... when things got bad at Hearst... Autumn was the one who looked out for me. She's got a good heart. I feel like... like I owe her this much."

"You really care about her, don't you?"

"Yeah, that's one way to put it."

Cassandra nodded and she drove on in silence, thinking about what Julian had said.

A little while later, they arrived back at the campus. They went back to Party Central and found that everything had been finished and Payton and the other preps counter checking everything. The nerds were looking through the wiring, ensuring it was done well. Payton saw them and ran up to them, "Oh, good. You're here. The party starts at five. Meanwhile, we can have Autumn's birthday before the other students leave class."

Cassandra and Julian had no objections to this and they set up the cake box at one of the tables. Julian said, "Now, it's time to call Autumn up and make sure she has a good birthday."

Julian called Autumn on his cell and asked her to come by Party Central. "Okay, she's on her way. Now what do we do? Just yell surprise when she comes in? Does that make sense? Is that a thing people do?" Julian rambled.

"Wow, Is it just me, or is Julian more nervous than he is before a game?" Cassandra remarked.

"Sure seems that way, " Nyla said.

Payton and the other preps giggled.

Julian's ears turned red and scowled, "Could you all just shut up and hide? She'll be here soon!"

They did as they were asked and they hid. Soon, a pair of footsteps could be heard and Autumn called out, "Hello? Julian? Are you there? I know you wanted to talk, but today's not the best day. It's no big deal, just some personal stu--"

They leapt out of their hiding spots and shouted, "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUTUMN!"

Autumn jumped up in surprise and asked, "What... what is this? You... you guys are all here for me?"

"Of course we are," Cassandra beamed.

"And hey! That's not all! Open your gift!" Julian said as he handed her the gift bag with the camera.

"OMG! Is this a vintage Furiyama film camera with fisheye lens and 200x zoom?!" Autumn gushed.

Cassandra said, "It's whatever they gave us when we asked for an artsy camera..." Julian elbowed her in the side and shot her a glare. "I mean, yes!"

"I love it!" Autumn smiled.

"Oh, we're not done!" Julian told her and he led her to the table where the cake box had been set.

"Is that a For Goodness Cake box?!" Autumn exclaimed.

"Yep! And read what the cake says!" Cassandra said excitedly.

She opened the box and sighed in delight. "Aww... Am I really your favourite artist?"

"Are you kidding? You're the only artist I can stand!" Julian said with a chuckle.

Autumn began tearing up and hugged Cassandra, "...this is... the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..."

Cassandra hugged her back but told her, "Julian's the one you should be thanking."

Julian looked down to hide the blush that was creeping up and cleared his throat, "Um... You know... It was no big deal..."

Autumn went up and gave him a hug...one that lingered a bit too long. "Thank you, Julian. Thank you so much!" she whispered.

Payton said, "Let's eat some cake, y'all!"

They all laughed and began celebrating and eating cake. The other students began arriving after classes ended at Party Central, dressed in masks and gowns. A DJ girl began...well.. deejaying and music pounded. They all danced to the music, and in the process, met and made new friends from other schools who decided to make a transfer to Avalon High.

After the party ended, Payton cheered, "Whoo! Now that was a some party!"

"Preach it, sister!" Cassandra agreed as she took off her mask.

"And look at that. We are going to have cheerleaders and band members joining us soon!"

Payton nodded and enthusiastically said, "You guys did great. I was worried this schools was crawling with emo kids but you guys are pretty awesome."

Payton's phone buzzed off with a text and she gasped. "Oh! I've got to go. Just remembered something important. See you guys later!"

Cassandra frowned, "What was that all about?"

Julian brushed it off, "Eeh, Payton's always running around like that."

Cassandra doubted it, since she noticed Payton looking panicked but she mumbled, "I'll take your word for it."

They began cleaning up and dancing to the music that was playing on Cassandra's phone to make the time go faster. Once they were done, they left the building. Julian's phone buzzed with a text and he said, "Hey, Cass... I just got a text from Autumn. She said something's going down at Hearst High, and Payton could use some backup."

"We do owe her one. Let's go see what's up," Cassandra said flippantly. "And I have a feeling that I won't like it," she added with a mutter.

 **Author's note** : _So, this was kind of a difficult chapter to write. Sorry if it isn't my best. And I apologize if has grammatical errors or typos. Reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames please. Thanks for reading this! Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	4. Welcome the Party Princess

Julian and Cassandra began leaving for Hearst as soon as they had been informed that Payton was in trouble. They met Autumn at the front of the school parking lot where she was pacing up and down nervously. Julian asked, "Autumn, what's going on?"

"Oh, it's a total mess. Payton had been so busy helping us out that she forgot that she was supposed to be throwing a party for Mia," she replied.

"Oh, no." Julian's face looked ashen.

"Whoa! Back up a little bit. Who's Mia?" Cassandra enquired.

"Max's little sister," Autumn explained.

"Yowza," Cassandra grimaced.

"We'd better rush there... And fast," Julian urged.

They all hopped into Cassandra's car and they drove off to Hearst High. A few minutes later, they arrived and found Kara and another cheerleader confronting Payton. Cassandra made the presumption that the other cheerleader was Mia, given her resemblance to Max; long blonde hair pulled back by a grey headband and blue eyes and cherry red lips. She wore a similar green cheerleadering uniform to Kara.

"You promised to bring snacks and decorations to my party then you dare pull off a total no-show?" Mia raged.

"I am so, so sorry! I was helping out Autumn and her new friend... " Payton tried to explain.

"WHAT?! You were over at that new school?!" Mia exclaimed in anger.

"That's just insulting, Payton. We're not going to forget this. We're going to make your life MISERABLE! No one's going to come to your parties. No one's going to talk to you at lunch. You're going to be a total social outcast!" Kara threatened.

Payton sniffled, "I... I... "

Cassandra couldn't take anymore of this. "Hey! Cut it out already!" she shouted at them. She stepped in between them and Payton and continued, "Can't you see that she feels bad enough about it?"

"Who asked you, dork?" Kara sneered.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and muttered, "How original."

She put her arm around a crying Payton and said, "Let's go back to my school. You don't need to take this crap."

They turned their backs on Mia and Kara and went back to Avalon, with Payton crying on Julian's shoulder and Autumn trying to comfort her.

Once back at the school, Payton finally spoke, "Those two were right. Knowing those two, they are going to make my life a living hell after this."

"True. They actually have enough power to pull it off," Autumn added.

"Then you don't have to take it lying down. Come to Avalon High," Cassandra suggested.

Payton looked at her with tears still streaming down her face. "You'd still want me at your school? But why? I'm not popular anymore?" she wondered.

Cassandra cupped Payton's face and used her thumbs to dry her tears. "This school is for everyone. You don't have and will never need to be popular to be welcome here," Cassandra told her softly.

Payton gave her a lovely smile and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're so sweet! I'll enroll first thing tomorrow."

The next day, Cassandra arrived at the school and found Payton at the admissions office, all happy and excited to be joining Avalon. Payton hugged her and squealed, "Aah! This is the best decision I've made... well, apart from getting these designer Manolo Blahnik shoes at a special discount..." Cassandra just chuckled and said, "Welcome to Avalon High, Payton."

They left the admissions office and without further ado, went for their first classes of the day.

Cassandra had to admit, the school had grown in the few weeks that they had been open. All the hangouts and sports facilities had been completed. They had even set up a new thing called the Dish; a sort of a student polling forum where they got to ask the students their opinions on various matters of interest, be it pop culture or politics. The students were happy with it as they got their voices heard.

After a World History class with Miss Lee, it was lunch break. Cassandra went to the cafeteria and picked her lunch. She saw Julian and Autumn waving her over. She walked over to them and sat at their table. "Hey, guys," she greeted.

"Hey, Cassandra," they responded.

"Have any of you seen Payton?" Cassandra asked after a few minutes of chatting and eating.

"No, we haven't. Actually, we were about to ask you the same thing," Autumn responsed worriedly.

"Excuse me," a voice piped up from behind them. They turned around and saw a girl with pink hair, tanned skin and brown eyes looking at them. She was dressed in a pink sweater with heart decorations, a pink skirt and pink flats.

"Oh hey, Isabelle, " Cassandra greeted.

She smiled at Cassandra in greeting and continued, "Pardon me for the intrusion but I couldn't help but overhear that you were looking for the new girl, Payton? I saw her walking towards the fountains and she looked really sad. Like she had been crying."

"Oh, no. What happened?" Autumn looked down sadly.

"Thanks, Isabelle," Cassandra gratefully said.

"No problem, darling," she nodded and she went off.

The other three left the cafeteria and ran for the fountains. True to Isabelle's information, Payton was seated at the benches and she looked like she had been crying. Cassandra sat down and she asked, "Payton? What happened?"

"It's... it's my boyfriend. I guess I mean by EX-boyfriend," she answered. "He just broke up with me. In a TEXT message. He said I was a traitor to Hearst, and he didn't want to take the hit to his popularity!" she frowned.

Cassandra scowled, "What a jerk!"

Payton snorted, "I know right! But my heart's broken anyway!" She sighed heavily.

Cassandra put her arm around her and Payton put her head on her shoulder. Autumn spoke up, "Anything we can do?"

"Yeah, anything?" Julian asked as he cracked his knuckles and pounded his fist into his palm.

"Julian, no." Cassandra warned.

Payton giggled at Julian's antics. Cassandra then got a light bulb moment. She took her phone out of her pocket and put some music on. She pulled Payton up to her feet. Payton curiously asked, "What are you doing?"

"The only thing we can do; a random dance party!" Cassandra responded.

Payton laughed and they began singing and dancing to the music. Autumn joined them but Julian was reluctant to join up until Autumn's prodding got him up and he danced to the music. They all danced until their feet were tired and they sat down on the benches. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate you doing this for me." Payton said.

 **After School...**

At Payton's insistence, they went to a nearby coffee shop and she bought them all her favourite drink, a peppermint spice latte. "It's kinda a post-party Payton thing and also a post-breakup thing," she explained. "It's kinda dumb, but I like it."

Autumn smiled, "I like it."

They all took one and Cassandra said, "I propose a toast... Here's to Payton... And here's to us. Cheers."

They gulped down the lattes and laughed at the tiny foam mustaches that formed at the top of their lips.

The door to the coffeshop opened and Cassandra turned around and saw the last person she wanted to see; Kara and the whole cheerleading squad.

Payton looked at what Cassandra was looking at and groaned, "Uh oh, looks like someone followed me here..."

"Why does she need the entire cheerleading squad with her?" Cassandra wondered.

"That's Kara for you. She never goes to a showdown without backup," Payton answered.

"Well, we've got your back," Julian said.

Kara sauntered over to their table, followed by Mia and the other cheerleaders.

"Ahem...Payton...Joining the enemy I see... Not a smart move," Kara said as she folded her arms.

"Look, Kara. We don't want any trouble here," Julian said, an eyebrow raised in warning for her to back off.

"Please. I can do whatever the hell I want, " Kara spat.

"I get you don't like Payton, but you can't just come at her like some psycho cheerleader," Cassandra said, standing up slowly, both hands on the table.

"You can't talk to me like that!" Kara exclaimed.

"Oh yes, I can. You can't come here disturbing the peace and expect to pick on Payton without a fight. You don't make the rules here, chickie," Cassandra responded calmly, stepping away from the table and was now face to face with Kara. She looked at Kara with a burning and unwavering gaze.

"And that means that it's time for you to leave this place," Julian added.

Kara looked around and saw that the chatter in the coffee shop had stopped and everyone was looking at them. She responded, "Whatever. Let's go, girls."

"Before we go, we've got a message from Max. We're challenging your school to a football game. Think of it as your school's first Homecoming game... if you think you can pull it off," Mia said.

"So we'll see you on the field... unless you're scared. Mia, girls... let's get out of here. Payton, have fun in Loserville," Kara sneered.

She slapped Payton's hand, which had been clutching her latte and it spilled all over her clothes.

"Hey!" Payton exclaimed.

Kara and the other girls snickered as they left the coffeeshop. Cassandra nearly lunged for Kara, but Julian held her back. "Hold your horses, Cass."

Cassandra growled but she sat down. Autumn winced at the mess Kara had made and apologized, "Sorry about your outfit, Payton."

"No biggie. Thanks for sticking up for me, " Payton smiled. "Meanwhile, we have Max's challenge to think about. I can organize a Homecoming parade."

"And Cassandra and I can organize the football team. But didn't I miss something? Homecoming is great but are we letting Kara get away with dumping coffee all over you?" Julian enquired.

Payton shifted uncomfortably in her seat and replied, "That was kinda the idea."

Cassandra looked at Julian and smirked, "Oh, you're onto something, baby. I like it."

Julian continued, "We should settle this the hard way... It's time for some revenge tonight. It's prank time, baby."

Payton gasped, "Are you crazy?"

"Come on. Man up. Kara needs to know that she can't come and mess with any of us."

"Oh yeah, and you Payton are going to be that person to teach her that!" Cassandra added.

"I'm in!" Payton said enthusiastically.

"Count me out, guys. Revenge isn't exactly my kind of thing," Autumn said sadly. "Besides, I kinda had plans for tonight."

"It's okay, Autumn, " Cassandra said gently.

Autumn left the coffeeshop and the three were left planning on what kind of revenge to take. Julian said, "I couldn't help but notice that Kara drives a fancy, brand new sports car."

"That's right. Her dad bought it for her Sweet Sixteen party," Payton informed them.

"Oh, there will be nothing sweet about that car once we're done with it," Julian smirked.

"Hmm... We could dump a bag of snakes in her car," Cassandra suggested. "Kara seems like the kind of girl who screams at the sight of a snake. Let us see her reaction to a dozen."

"Wow, that is seriously vicious, Cass," Julian said in surprise. "But you're the boss."

Cassandra looked at him and gave him a sultry smile and whispered in his ear, "What can I say? I'm a bad, bad girl."

Julian grinned at this and bit his lip and Cassandra restrained herself from laughing. They went to the pet shop to buy some equipment for catching corn snakes, the least harmful snakes around and the most common. After that, they drove off to a field and began catching snakes and putting them in a sack. Julian gulped and asked, "Hey, Cass. These snakes aren't like...you know...poisonous?"

"Don't worry, Julian. These are corn snakes. They couldn't hurt you even if they wanted to. They are so cute with their hissy snakey faces," Payton answered.

"Julian, are you afraid of snakes?" Cassandra asked incredulously.

"No, but what if there was a special type of snake with mutant powers?" Julian pressed worriedly.

Cassandra at this point was shaking with silent laughter. She replied, "Don't worry, Julian. Professor Snake-xavier trains his mutant snakes to use their powers for good and not evil."

"Quiet, Sage," Julian grumbled and she laughed.

"Caught the last one," Payton said happily.

"Good, the faster we get rid of these legless abominations the better, " Julian muttered.

They placed it in the sack and they walked to the car. "Now it's time to give Kara a taste of her own medicine," Julian declared.

Cassandra asked Payton, "You ready for this?"

Payton replied, uncertainty lacing her voice, "I...uh...suppose... "

Cassandra looked at her and in a concerned voice, enquired, "Are you okay?"

Payton sighed and said, "It's stupid, but... if Kara does catch us... do you think she'll, you know, hit me? Just the other day, I saw her slap a freshman girl for wearing the same shoes as her..."

Julian interrupted, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Are you really worried she'll hit you? Prep, Kara's 115 pounds tops and as intimidating as a trained poodle. You know why she's got so much power at Hearst? Because good people do nothing. Because no one wants to make a scene. Because it's so much easier to just make her happy. There's only one thing you can do if you want a bully to stop hitting you. And that's to hit them right back."

"...did you get bullied a lot, Julian?" Payton asked with a curious look.

"Nope. Not even once. I WAS the bully." Julian responded flippantly. "Now, come on, let's head back to the Jock Hangout."

A few minutes later, Payton and Cassandra were dressed in tank tops and yoga pants. Cassandra was demonstrating some simple self defense moves and using Julian as a live example. Payton looked unsure and said, "I don't know if this is such a good idea..."

"It's a great idea! There's no better way to get over your fear of being hit than getting hit a bunch of times!" Julian persisted.

"Ain't that the truth!" Cassandra said with a smile.

"Now, come on ladies! Let's do this!"

Cassandra taught Payton some moves and she learned the moves like a pro. Julian however noticed that she was holding back in their execution and he pointed it out to Cassandra who asked, "Now what do we do?"

"Can you do a Kara impression?" He asked.

Cassandra nodded and started shoving Payton and talking trash...

"Hey loser! What are you going here, being all loser-y?" Cassandra mimicked Kara.

Payton looked nervous and replied, "Oh, I, uh... sorry..."

"Sorry's not gonna cut it, loser! No one talks back to me, especially not a lame, dumb, ugly loser like you!" Cassandra continued.

"Now that's... that's not nice..." Payton said, her tone of voice indicating that she was getting upset.

"Oh really? What are you gonna do? Cry about it? Or maybe you'll kick me with those ugly shoes you bought from the dollar store..." Cassandra mocked.

"They're designer Le Chiffres, and I ordered them from France!" Payton shouted and as Cassandra went for another shove, Payton grabbed her arms and flipped her onto the mat with an expert judo throw!

Julian whopped in joy and Payton looked at her arms in surprise. Cassandra complimented her, "Lovely technique."

Julian walked up behind Payton and asked, "You ready, Prep?"

Payton nodded in delight and responded, "I'm so ready!"

Later that night, in the bushes behind Kara's house, Cassandra, Julian, Payton and Brianna were crouched there, having placed the snakes in Kara's car after some lockpicking. Cassandra had Brianna come as backup.

"OMG OMG OMG. I cannot believe this is for real happening!" Payton gasped.

"Come on, Payton. Admit it. This is fun." Julian said.

"Maybe just a little..." Payton admitted.

"Quiet, you two...did you see that? There's someone opening the front door!" Cassandra shushed them.

"Is someone out there?" Kara called out.

"What... what do we do now?! Julian, you didn't cover this in our training!" Payton asked frantically.

"Now, my friends, we RUN!" Julian said.

They didn't need to be told twice. They ran as fast as their legs could take them.

"Who's out there? What... WHAT did you do to my CAR?! I hate snakes!! Aah! Oh God!" They heard Kara shriek in fright.

They ran until they found a fence blocking their path. They screeched to a stop and Payton exclaimed, "Oh, no! What are we going to do?"

"Get it together! We just need to climb over the fence!" Julian firmly said.

Payton nodded, "O...okay."

Julian led them in climbing the fence. He climbed it with ease and beckoned for the others to follow. Brianna followed then Payton, Julian assisting them. Once they were over the fence, they looked at Cassandra who hadn't yet climbed over. Cassandra looked at the fence and then she took a few steps back. She ran towards the fence, used her left foot to anchor herself and with both hands on the top of the fence, she did a flip and landed perfectly on the ground. "Whoa, Cassandra. Good reflexes, " Payton remarked.

"Show off, " Julian snorted.

Cassandra stuck out her tongue at him and they continued their frantic sprinting. They finally stopped after a while and they panted heavily.

"Now that's what we call a clean getaway," Julian said, amid heavy breathing.

Payton squealed and clapped her hands. "I can't believe we just did that! The only thing I figured I was good at was being nice and throwing parties. Now I'm a world-class pranker."

"Hold your horses, Prep. You have a long way to go before calling yourself world-class. But you did good," Julian told her warmly.

"Now, we have Max's challenge to think about, " Cassandra remarked.

"We'll talk about that tomorrow," Julian said. "For now, we'd better get home."

They bid each other a good night and left for their respective homes. Tomorrow, they prepared for the Homecoming game.

 **Author's note** : _Well, another chapter is up. FYI, Isabelle is a Heartthrob girl. The songs Cassandra and company were dancing to are Hurricane by Bridget Mendler and Here's to Us by Victoria Justice. I was listening to them as I was writing this chapter down. And is there something between Cassandra and Julian? (Gasp). I guess we'll have to see! Stay tuned for more updates! A special shout-out to StanfordBound2020! Thanks for reviewing! As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames! I also apologize for any grammatical errors or typos. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	5. Battle of Wills

**Friday Evening**

 **15 Minutes to the Homecoming Game...**

I'm on the battlefield

Like, oh my God (ooh la la)

Knocking soldiers down

Like house of cards (ooh la la)

I'm a one woman army (ooh la la)

Yes, I'm a one woman army

(ooh la la, ooh la la, ooh la la)

Cassandra was in the locker room, earphones plugged in and listening to music. She was in her sports bra and yoga pants, stretching her limbs as she hummed softly to the music. She wouldn't admit it but she was nervous as could be. Who could blame her though? It was their school's first big game against their arch-rivals, Hearst High. It was also the determining factor to whether Autumn would finally transfer to their school. Autumn had told them that her dad had finally considered the option, seeing as the school had solid academics and sports programs. Cassandra could still see Autumn's eyes shining with happiness and hope at the prospect of her finally joining them. Julian had said, "We'll bring a win home for you, Autumn."

"We won't let you down, Autumn," Cassandra murmured to herself.

The school had been busy preparing for Homecoming. Payton had been organizing the Homecoming Dance and the Pre-parade; a tedious task.

Cassandra and Julian had been training the football team; an equally tedious task. Payton and Julian had gotten into an argument as they had been using the field at the same time and Julian had thrown a football into Payton's float accidentally. They had stormed off the field, each furious with the other. Cassandra couldn't practice and be mediator, but what choice did she have? She got the student govs, Jessica and Jacob to draw up a schedule for when Payton and Julian could use the field. There was also the issue of getting them to talk to each other. At Cassandra's wheedling, Julian helped Payton fix her float and got the team to help them practice for the pre-parade. "Ease up on Payton. She's trying to plan a float parade, AND she's getting ready for the dance. I know football is a big part of Homecoming, but the things that Payton is doing are important, too. Without them, Homecoming's just another game!" Cassandra reminded him. Payton and Julian finally made up and Cassandra thought that she had had enough drama for a week. But she was wrong.

Later in the week, as Cassandra and Julian were going for practice, Julian's phone buzzed with a text. He frowned and said, "Yo, Cass! There's something weird going on. I got a text from a blocked number... with a warning that someone was going to be recording our practice today to steal our plays! If Hearst High pulls that off, we're going to be in a lot of trouble. Can you keep an eye out while we run plays?"

True enough, as they were running plays, Cassandra spotted a quadrocopter in the sky. She yelled Julian's name and pointed out the object. His face contorted in rage and Cassandra tossed him a football and he hit it dead-on. It dropped out of the sky only for Max to show up out of nowhere and pick it up.

"Good throw, Julian. Too bad I already got all the footage I need!" Max jeered.

Julian grabbed the copter and slammed it on the ground.

"Still the same old Julian, huh? Never met a problem you didn't want to punch. Don't worry, that camera has been streaming everything straight to our football team back at Hearst High," Max gloated.

Cassandra and Julian glared at him as he strode off and laughed. They had been forced to write their entire playbook. Luckily, they had help from the other jocks and nerds. They worked together to make a beautiful blend of physics and psychology. The team practiced their plays, this time with the nerds helping them out by ensuring that no more tech was being used to steal their plays.

Friday arrived and the school was hustling in excitement. Cassandra was kinda nervous but her uncle had been supportive of her and promised to come by after work. As she and Julian walked with the football team down the hallway, looking oh so cool in their Letterman jackets, the other would hoot and holler in support and Cassandra was touched by all the love and support their classmates were offering. Later, the pre-parade started, the bleachers filled with their classmates and parents of kids in the school coming to show their support. Cassandra could even see Lance in the crowd, hooting and hollering. The school colours; black, blue and white were everywhere in the football field. Flags, face paint and posters were the order of the day, with the word 'KNIGHTS' on them. The marching band, mascots and the cheerleaders performed their routine with the float coming in and Bella, the head cheerleader began announcing the team members names, each of them running out as they were called out. Julian's name was called out and he ran out, waving at the crowd. Cassandra could only see the back of his jacket. "And finally, our school quarterback, the girl who brought us all here; give it up for Cassandra Sage-Beckett!!"

The crowd went wild and rose to their feet at her name. Cassandra ran out and she saw Lance beam at her and she smiled back. She looked around her and saw the excited and pumped faces of her classmates and their parents. She was determined now more than ever to to do right by them and make them proud.

Cassandra felt a hand on her shoulder and she was drawn out of her flashback. She turned around and saw Julian looking at her. She removed her earphones and asked casually, "What's up, Vega?"

"You okay?" He asked, giving her a look of concern.

Cassandra sighed and replied, "I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous. A lot of people are counting on me, on us to bring home a win. Autumn and all the others watching. There's a lot riding on this...I don't know if I can do this, Julian."

Cassandra looked down, hiding her face so that he wouldn't see her nervousness. Julian put his left hand on her shoulder and used his right to tip up her chin so that they were making eye contact. His chocolate brown eyes bore into her steel grey ones.

"Listen to me, Cassandra. I know how it feels. That pressure when you feel like everyone is counting on you? Trust me, you aren't the first. But you need to know that you aren't alone; the team is here with you, we are all here with you. We're gonna stand together. And we believe in you. You brought us to this school as our leader."

Cassandra gave him a warm smile at his words. He smiled back as he traced his thumb across her cheek. She gave him a tight hug which he returned. She said, "Thank you, Julian."

"Now, you ready to lead the Knights, Sage?" He asked.

"You know it, baby," she replied enthusiastically.

"That's what I like to hear," he grinned. Cassandra took out her uniform as he left to give her some privacy to change. She took a look at her jersey with her last name at the back and her number '23'. She sighed and began dressing up. She laced up her boots and took her helmet and went to the meeting room, where she found the rest of the team going through some last minute details with Julian. He looked at her and walked over after excusing himself. "Hey, Cass. You feeling better now?" Julian asked.

Cassandra nodded and Julian grinned, "Great."

He cleared his throat. "Well, since you're my co-captain, I was thinking that you should give the team a rousing speech," Julian suggested.

"Me?" Cassandra asked in surprise.

"Yeah, as I told you, these guys look up to you. You brought us all here," Julian told her.

Cassandra said, "I'll... I'll do my best."

Julian whistled and the chatter in the locker room came to a hush. Julian hollered, "Hey, everyone, listen up!"

Cassandra began, "Okay, team! Tonight, we're standing on the edge of greatness. If we beat Hearst High, we'll be making a statement. We're playing for our school! Think of this game as an epic battle! We're going out there tonight to do battle! And we're going to WIN!"

The team yelled, "Hoorah!"

She continued, "Now, get out there and just remember...that we are the Avalon Knights! Let's go, fight, win!"

They began to chant, "GO, FIGHT WIN!"

"That's right! Who are we?" Cassandra hollered.

"Knights!" They hollered back.

They cheered and walked out of the room to the field, where they were welcomed by the cheers of the crowd, who were waving their flags and posters in excitement, the cheerleaders encouraging them. They walked to the field where they were joined by the Hearst football team. Max was leading them and underneath his helmet, Cassandra could see his cocky smirk. "Let's see what you've got," he challenged.

"It's on," Julian scowled.

The referee called Cassandra and Max for the coin toss. Cassandra called heads and Max tails. She glared at him as the referee tossed the coin. She won the coin toss, giving her some satisfaction at Max's look of shock.

They lined up in their positions when the referee blew his whistle. Cassandra breathed in and out as she took her position as starting quarterback and she called out the first play. "686 Pump F-Stop on two. Set. Green 80, Green 80, Hut-Hut."

Cassandra caught the ball and she tossed it to Julian, effectively starting the game. It wasn't an easy game, Cassandra had to say. Hearst was really good and Max a good leader. But Cassandra was determined to win this game and she and Julian rallied the team to fight back. They were neck and neck.

 _Later...One Minute to the end of the game_...

 **At the Avalon Side bleachers:**

Payton gasped, "OMG! Time's almost up and we're down by four!"

"It's okay. We've got one last shot to score a touchdown. If we make it, we'll win!" Brianna said hopefully.

 **At the Hearst Side bleachers:**

"Come on, you guys. You can do this," Autumn whispered.

 **Back on the field...**

The Knights were in a huddle and they were listening to Julian.

"Okay, team. This is it. Everything comes down to this last play. Get into position..." Julian instructed them.

They complied and this time, there was a slight change in plan. Ross took over as quarterback while Cassandra was made receiver.

Max jeered at Julian, "You ain't getting past us, Vega."

"Shut up and play, Warren," Julian scowled.

The referee blew his whistle and Ross threw the ball to Cassandra, who caught it, just ten yards from the endzone. She began running, only for Max to say triumphantly, "Not so fast!" as he tackled her.

Cassandra threw the ball back to Ross who caught it and at Julian's encouragement, ran to the endzone. The referee blew his whistle, signalling the end of the game. The crowd went into a frenzy at the touchdown.

"Yes!" Ross cheered.

"We did it! We did it!" Julian yelled happily.

Cassandra rushed to Julian who lifted her up and gave her a huge hug. Cassandra laughed. Max growled, "This is NOT HAPPENING!"

"Believe it, Warren. It is," Cassandra told him.

Payton ran out to the field and shrieked, "Congrats, you guys! I finally understand why Julian is always going on about football. It's hard work!"

"True. But you supported us through it, which was also vital to our win," Julian said warmly.

"Hiya guys," they heard Autumn call out to them. They turned around and saw her run up to them. "I might have been sitting with the Hearst High fans, but I was cheering for you!"

"Really?" Julian asked.

Autumn replied, "Yeah, people started throwing things at me and telling me to shut up... but I was just so excited! You were awesome out there!"

Julian looked down and smiled, "Thanks."

Payton cleared her throat and said, "Now we have a Homecoming Dance to attend. You guys did an a-ma-zing job! Now it's time to celebrate! Autumn, this Homecoming Dance has a no-Hearst-High policy, but I think we can make an exception for you."

Autumn gushed, "Aww! Thanks!"

 **At the Dance...**

The school was at Party Central which had been decorated with the school colours and they were dancing in celebration of their victory. Cassandra complimented Payton, "This is awesome, chickie!"

"Thanks, but Julian helped too!" Payton said.

"You two make a great team!" Cassandra said.

"Yeah, we do! Go Team Pulian! Team Jayton? Hmm, neither of those sound right..." Payton said thoughtfully.

"Heh, well, while you work it out, I actually got you something. I remember you always liked it after a celebration..." Julian said as he handed her a peppermint latte.

"Yay! You remembered!" Payton exclaimed.

As he handed her the latte, their fingers touched and they looked at each other. "You know, Julian you're a pretty awesome guy," Payton remarked.

"You're pretty okay, Prep."

Autumn interrupted their moment when she shrieked in delight after reading a text, "Guys! I've got great news! My dad thought your Homecoming was great!"

Julian asked, "So it means...?"

"I'm Avalon High's newest student!"

Julian swept her in a huge bear hug before quickly putting her down and stepping back.He blushed and quickly said, "I, uh, mean... congrats."

Cassandra gave Autumnn a hug of her own and smiled, "It's time I officially welcomed you to Avalon High, my dear," and she cupped Autumn's face.

 **Author's note:**

 _Wow, another chapter is up! I have to admit I had a difficult time with this one, researching more about American Football, not to mention that I was busy getting ready for back to school and all. So, finally Autumn joins Avalon. The first song I used is One Woman Army by Porcelain Black. For the Homecoming game, I was listening to My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) by Fall Out Boy. As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames please. Thanks for following this story. I also apologize for any typos or grammatical errors made. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	6. Come In Nerditron

It had been a week since the Homecoming Game and Avalon's victory against Hearst. Autumn had settled in well at Avalon and she was happy. It made Cassandra happy to see her being herself without any condemnation from anyone. That had been the point of Avalon; to build a place where all were welcome and be themselves.

Cassandra, Payton and Julian were in the Artist Hangout with Autumn and they were chatting. Autumn was busy painting a portrait as she talked animatedly. Cassandra smiled at Autumn and commented, "It's good to see you like this, Autumn."

Autumn blushed. "Thanks to you, Cassandra. You gave me a chance to transfer and you've made feel welcome."

Julian then remarked, "That's good and all but there's still something I'd like to know. Where did Max get that quadrocopter to spy on us? That thing was really high tech and would have cost us the game."

Cassandra agreed, "True. We need to investigate that matter."

Autumn clasped her hands thoughtfully and said, "I have an idea...but I won't be able to verify it without going back to Hearst High. The guy I'm thinking of always hangs out in the science department."

Cassandra stood up and said, "We can go together. Gives me a chance to meet the guy who made the quadrocopter."

"Hold up, Cass. You're persona non grata at Hearst, remember?" Autumn pointed out.

"I'm with Autumn on this one. We can't go in without a plan," Julian said.

"How about disguising her? No-one will recognize her that way," Payton suggested.

Cassandra thought about it and agreed, "I like it. That works."

"What will she go in as?" Julian asked curiously.

"How about a substitute teacher? Cranky and mean. No student wants to mess with them. Besides, it'll give me a chance to dress her up," Payton said happily.

Cassandra smirked at this, knowing Payton's love for fashion. She complied and Payton squealed enthusiastically. Payton grabbed Cassandra's hand and they went to the Prep Hangout, where Payton handed Cassandra a cream long-sleeved blouse, a black knee-length pencil skirt and black pumps. "I always keep an extra set of clothes around, just in case," Payton explained when Cassandra gave her a quizzical look at how she happened to have these clothes around.

Cassandra got dressed in the clothes she was given. Payton then sat her down and styled her hair in a bun, hiding her classic pink highlights. For the final touch, Payton gave her a set of nerd glasses. Cassandra took a look in the mirror and she had to admit, Payton did a good job. They went back to the Artist Hangout where Julian and Autumn were waiting.

"Wow, Payton. Good job on the disguise," Autumn commended.

Julian wolf-whistled and Cassandra smirked. "Like what you see, Vega?"

"A lot. I have to say Sage, you sure can fill out a skirt. And you've got a sexy set of legs right there," Julian grinned.

Cassandra blushed and smacked him on the arm playfully. Autumn cleared her throat. "Now we need to figure out a back story for your character."

Cassandra looked at her quizzically. "Say what?"

"Just in case you're questioned, you know," Autumn said.

The others stared at her until Cassandra said, "That won't be necessary, chickie. I'll just focus on looking cranky."

"Aww, you're no fun," Autumn mumbled.

Cassandra ruffled her hair affectionately and laughed.

 **Time Skip...**

A little while later, Cassandra walked through the halls of Hearst High, looking every inch a substitute teacher. People avoided her as she glared at everyone. She nearly managed to reach her destination without anyone stopping her but...

"Hey! You! What do you think you're doing?!" A familiar voice shouted at her. Cassandra turned around and saw an angry Mia Warren walking towards her.

"You're a substitute teacher, right? I need you to give me a copy of next week's Chemistry pop quiz. Pronto!" Mia demanded.

Cassandra replied firmly, "I don't think that's part of my job."

"Are you kidding me? Do you even know who I am? My dad's the principal. My big brother is the school star. That means you have to do whatever I want!"

Cassandra raised an eyebrow and Mia rolled her eyes and reached into her pockets, taking out some money. "Ugh, you're going to really make this difficult, aren't you? Here, have some money. Would a 20 cover it? That's about what you make in a week, right?" Mia gave her once over then she narrowed her eyes. "Say... wait a minute... you look kind of familiar... do I--"

Just then, a voice interrupted her, "Mia! There you are! Cheerleading practice is starting!"

It was Kara Sinclair with her signature sneer. Mia groaned, "Ugh, whatever. I hate today..."

She made an about turn and walked towards Kara, leaving Cassandra alone, who let out a breath of relief that she hadn't known she was holding. Cassandra rushed over to the science department before anything else could go wrong, where Autumn was waiting for her.

Inside a science classroom, a guy and a girl were working on some kind of robot...

"Hmm... it's a start... but if we're going to make the greatest Battlebot ever, we'll need to come up with some anti-grav thrusters..." the guy said. He had tanned skin, green eyes and hair styled in a mohawk. He was dressed in a blue science shirt, simple sneakers and jeans.

"Come on, Nishan, you know we don't have time for that. We need to get back to prepping those cheat sheets for Max and Kara..." the girl said worriedly. She had pink hair, brown eyes and was dressed in a steampunk-like outfit.

"Hey Nishan! We need to talk." Autumn called out.

Nishan walked over to where Autumn were standing. "Autumn, good to see you," He greeted. He looked at Cassandra. "And you are?" He enquired.

Cassandra took off her glasses and Nishan's eyes widened in recognition and he gasped "Wait, you're that girl who owns that school, Avalon High; Cassandra Sage-Beckett. Cool King Arthur reference by the way."

He paused to take a breath and continued, "How may I help you two?"

Autumn said, "Nishan, Max recently tried to record our football practice using some kind of advanced helicopter... robot... model... thing."

Nishan looked down uncomfortably and sighed, "Ah. That would PROBABLY be the stealth quadrocopter I built for him."

"Wait, what?!" Cassandra and Autumn exclaimed at the same time.

"Nishan, how could you?" Autumn scolded.

"What? I didn't know he was going to steal anything! I figured he wanted it for, I don't know, a prep rally or a sportsball game! Besides, it's not like I could say no. Max keeps the bullies off me, and I do whatever he wants. That's the deal." Nishan defended himself.

"Is that how you want to live the rest of your high school days? In fear of being bullied?" Cassandra asked him with a sad look on her face.

"Oh man, I am really bad at awkward social situations like this. Is there a polite way I can say no? Or do I just throw a smoke bomb and run?" He ran a frustrated hand over his face and sighed, "Look, no offense, but Hearst's got the best academic reputation in the state. The way I see it, high school's just one dinky step on the way to college... which is a step on the way to my PhD... which is a step to running a research facility... And from there, it's just a few steps to becoming an ageless, all-powerful cyborg... and that's just a step to--"

Autumn interrupted him, "Have an open mind, Nishan! Look, just come by Avalon and check it out! You'll be impressed by our academic programs and lack of bullying."

"f you want to transfer, that's up to you," Cassandra added.

Nishan nodded, "Okay, I'll come by."

Cassandra and Autumn left the science room together and went back to Avalon.

 **The Next Day...**

Cassandra and Autumn met Nishan at the gates. They walked through the school gates and Nishan whistled as he looked around. He seemed impressed. "Well, well, so this is the new school. From all the talk at Hearst, I was expecting more of a sprawling garbage dump meets post-apocalyptic wasteland... But instead it looks like you've got a state-of-the-art learning facility! I haven't been this pleasantly surprised since I tried to create synthetic peanut butter. It was totally inedible. Just awful. But it worked amazingly as an industrial sealant!" Nishan rambled, then he caught himself. "Where was I? Oh yeah! Nice school."

Cassandra giggled then she asked Autumn, "Is he always like this?"

"Yep. He grows on you, doesn't he?" Autumn replied.

Cassandra smiled, "He already has."

Nishan's ears turned red. The girls took him on a tour of the Nerd Hangout where they found some of the students building robots and observing the stars with a telescope. He joined the students building a robot in an animated discussion about the use of anti-grav thrusters. He came back to them after a while, then they went by the library, where Nishan grew more impressed by the number and quality of the books in the shelves.

After that, they went outside where Nishan commented, "Okay! Consider me officially impressed. You guys seem to have a strong academic program." Nishan's fell slightly. "Look, I... I couldn't leave Hearst even if I wanted to. I owe Max. He's kept me safe from bullies for years!"

Cassandra gave him a firm look and placed a hand on his shoulder. "No. What he did was exploit you. He only used you for what you could offer him.

Autumn gave him a bewildered look and asked, "Is this an advanced stage of Stockholm Syndrome?"

"No. Maybe." Nishan sighed, looking up at the sky. "Look, we've got a symbiotic relationship, like those little fish that cling to sharks."

"Do you realize that in your own metaphor, you're a tiny fish clinging to a SHARK?" Autumn pointed out.

Nishan scowled a bit. "This is high school, Autumn! Open your eyes. Jocks rule the school and pick on nerds. No one cares about your personality until you get to college."

Autumn frowned at this and with a determined gleam in her eye and said, "No, it's not like that in this school. I can prove it."

Autumn grabbed his hands and they walked towards Party Central where a party was in full swing, thrown by the nerds, which was in attendance by the different cliques in the school. Nishan was speechless for a minute then he spoke, "Okay, I'm speechless. So you're telling me that anyone, and I mean anyone, can throw a party here?"

"That's right," Cassandra said with a smile. "You get to be yourself and everyone will support you."

"Okay, but there's one last thing..." He trailed off.

"Please don't tell me we have to build a rocket," Cassandra groaned.

"No, maybe later." He frowned. "I'm worried about the... how do I put this nicely... musclebound, chest-thumping monkeymen."

"You mean jocks?" Autumn enquired.

"You do realize that I'm a jock?" Cassandra asked rhetorically, eyebrow raised.

"You're a different case, Cassandra. Sure, call them what you want. I... I realize now that the way the jocks treated me at Hearst was to okay. But I don't want to go from a frying pan to... well, another frying pan, I guess. I saw that Julian joined your school. That guy was not exactly nice to me back when we were at Hearst together," Nishan said nervously.

"Julian can be a little rough around the edges, but his bullying days are behind him," Autumn said.

"It's true. He's changed a lot since coming to Avalon," Cassandra supplied.

Julian had changed. His grades had shot up ever since Cassandra had helped him with his Math quiz. Cassandra had got him to believe in himself after telling her about what his dad believed; that the only thing he was good at was football. He'd also confided in her that he was dyslexic.

"Oh yeah? Prove it," Nishan challenged.

Autumn and Cassandra went to the Jock Hangout where Julian was working out. He saw the trio and walked towards them. "What's Hide-And-Go-Geek doing here?" he asked casually.

"Ahem... we're actually trying to recruit him to our school... and we need your help! You see, according to Nishan, you haven't exactly been nice to him in the past." Autumn said with a scowl.

"Yeah, okay. I might've been kind of hard on the guy." Julian confessed sheepishly. "So what do you want to do to settle the score, little guy? Wanna punch me in the face a couple times? I can take it," He offered.

"I was thinking more on the lines of a game of knights and bishops, kings and rooks! A true game of gentlemen!" Nishan suggested.

"You mean, chess?" Julian enquired.

Nishan nodded and Cassandra took them to the picnic tables and set them up with a chess set where they began playing a round of chess.

 **One game of chess later...**

The game ended with Nishan winning the match. He commended Julian, "I was impressed when you sacrificed your pawn for control of the center."

Julian shrugged, "Hey, go big or go home."

"I've got to say, you're pretty alright, Julian." Nishan said with a smile.

"Thanks, Thanks, Dorktopus. You're not bad either."

They got up and the group began walking casually towards the classrooms. Nishan looked ahead and gulped nervously. "Um, guys. I don't want to alarm anyone... but I'm pretty sure the Dark Lord of Evil and his Ice Queen are right over there..." He indicated towards the parking lot.

Indeed, Max and Kara were standing in the parking lot. He pointed towards Nishan and beckoned for him to come over.

"What do these guys want now?" Cassandra wondered.

"Nothing good," Julian replied.

Nishan walked over to them, with Cassandra, Autumn and Julian as backup.

"Uh, hey, Max. You wanted to talk to me? With words and preferably not punches?" Nishan asked nervously.

Max actually managed to look shocked and surprised and he responded, "Punches? Why would I punch you, Nishan? We just came here to talk! Didn't we, Kara?"

Kara rolled her eyes and spoke in a flat, bored voice, "Yes, Nishan. We came here because we miss you so much. Please don't transfer away. That would be sad. Blah blah."

Cassandra came close to Max until they were face to face and snorted, "I call bullshit, Warren."

"What the hell are you playing at?" Julian demanded.

Max ignored them and continued, "I'm serious, Nishan. I don't know what crazy ideas these losers have put in your head, but you do not want to transfer. You're a valued student at Hearst!"

"Oh really? Is it because I build you stuff?" Nishan asked.

"Is that so bad? I help you, you help me, no one gets hurt... except for these losers here, of course."

"Wow, Max, I have to say thanks... But no thanks." Nishan said firmly.

"What?!" Max's expression darkened.

"You know, I always figured I had it pretty good for a nerd... I was being lovingly exploited after all! But now I realize that things don't have to be that way. People don't have to treat each other like that. Not here. I mean, look at Julian! I spent years terrified of that guy... and the two of us just played a game of chess!"

"No way? Did he like, eat the pieces?" Kara asked in disbelief.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. That's what I want to get away from. The people here don't just want me for what I can do for them. They want me for ME. And that's why I'm transferring." Nishan declared with finality in his tone.

"You just burned your last bridge, Nishan. When my dad's done calling his buddies on the college board, there won't be a single school in the state that'll consider you!" Max threatened.

"And what about that little nerd-girl you're always staring at, huh? Think she'll still want to build nerdbots with a TRAITOR?" Kara taunted.

Nishan stammered, "Sakura? She... she..."

Cassandra interrupted him, "Enough!" She glared at Max and Kara and hissed, "And you wonder why guys are transferring out of your school. You guys acting like jerks is what's driving everyone away from Hearst."

Max muttered, "Come on, Kara. Let's get out of here."

The duo turned around and left. Nishan blinked a couple of times before asking, "I really just did that, didn't I? I'm not imagining it?"

"Nope. You just stood up for yourself, Nish." Cassandra smiled.

"I can reach out to Sakura, you know... see if she wants to transfer." Autumn suggested.

Nishan turned her down, "No, it's... it's okay. She's happy at Hearst. Don't bother her. And don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Cassandra hugged Nishan affectionately, "Welcome aboard, kiddo."

 **Author's note: **_Hey guys. Sorry for the late update. I have been a bit busy with real life and I was working out how this chapter would come out. So, Nishan joins the fold. Yay!! Next chapter should be out as soon as can be. And it has a few surprises on who's dating who! ; ) Should I say or nah? You'll find out soon enough. As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames please. I also apologize for the typos or grammatical errors made. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	7. It's Always A Good Time

It had been three weeks since the Homecoming Game and two weeks since Nishan had been admitted to the school. He had transitioned seamlessly from Hearst. All the students loved him, especially the nerds, gamers and the hackers. Often, when Cassandra would go by the Nerd Hangout to talk to him, he would be either playing a video game, building a robot or doing an experiment.

On another happy note, they had sixty students in the school. The school had grown from just Cassandra being alone in the campus being visited occasionally by Autumn to a campus bustling with life; an accomplishment that Cassandra and her uncle were proud of. She had managed to get the school up and running by being herself and encouraging other students to do the same.

She smiled as she walked down the hallway to her locker to grab some books, feeling all happy inside. Along the way, she noticed Contessa and Dylan (a jock and a nerd, respectively) talking and holding hands. 'Love is in the air, ' Cassandra thought brightly. She beamed at the thought of students from different cliques dating without having any qualms or restrictions here; another thing she was proud of about the school.

She arrived at her locker and picked her books for her second class of the day, Psychology; an elective she took with Autumn, Julian, Payton and Nishan. She rushed to the classroom and she found the group sitted but huddled in a group. "Hey, guys" she greeted. "What's up?" she asked curiously.

They stopped their hushed discussion and looked up at her. Autumn stood up. "Hey, Cassandra. We just having a discussion. We were thinking about having a school overnight to celebrate the school and you know, bring us all together."

"Hmm... That's not a bad idea. I'll talk it over with the student council and see what we can get done," Cassandra said thoughtfully.

Autumn nodded and she sat just as Mr. Phillips came in, starting their first class of the day. During free period, Cassandra went to the student council and discussed the idea of them organizing a school overnight, the idea of which they were not averse to. They said that within one week, they would have everything prepped for the event to happen.

 _ **One Week Later...**_

The student council managed to successfully organize the school overnight. The picnic tables was holding an assortment of snacks; s'mores, chips, cookies, salsa and cupcakes, all arranged with the Preps' keen eye. Tents had been set up near bonfires which the jocks were helping light up. The nerds and gamers had brought a projector which they were setting up for some gaming. Cassandra could see Nishan and Eric looking at the stars with a telescope some distance away. "And that constellation to your right? That's Taurus," Cassandra could hear him say.

"I see it! Fun fact... I'M a Taurus!" Eric enthusiastically said.

Cassandra chuckled at this and thought, 'Looks like Nishan's made a new friend.'

Just then, Autumn ran up to her. 'Hey, Cass. So what do you think about the overnight so far?" she asked.

"This was a brilliant idea, Autumn. I'm glad we managed to organize something like this," Cassandra replied.

Autumn beamed at her response.

"Hey! Cass!" A voice called out.

Cassandra and Autumn turned around and saw Payton waving them over. "I'm trying to get people gathered around the campfire for some good old spooooky stories. Want to come?"

"I LOVE scary stories! I'm in!" Autumn said enthusiastically.

Cassandra shrugged, "I'm game!"

They walked over to where Payton, Julian, Nishan and some other students were huddled around a bonfire. Cassandra sat next to Payton, who was spotted next to Julian. Autumn was sitting on his other side. Once everyone was seated, Payton cleared her throat, "I'll tell the scary story first! Once upon a time, there was a girl getting ready for her Prom night. She tried on all of the dresses in every store... pink ones, blue ones, red ones, yellow ones--"

Nishan murmured, "Hoo, boy!"

Payton continued, "And she curled her hair and put on all her makeup and was all ready for her date to arrive. She went to sit by the door... and waited... and waited... and waited... The time came for the dance to start, and her date still wasn't there! She waited another hour, then another, and finally she realized... He wasn't coming!"

"What? That's it?" Nishan asked confusion written all over his face.

Payton snapped her fingers, as if remembering something, "Oh wait! There's something about how the Prom was held in an old orphan insane asylum... but I forget how that part goes..."

Everyone gave her a blank look until Autumn broke the silence. "So, who's next? How about you, Cass? Think you can tell a better scary story?"

"I don't know, chickie," Cassandra responded, unsure of whether she should tell her story.

"C'mon, Cass. Give it a go," Julian encouraged her.

Cassandra nodded and sighed, "Okay, I'll do it."

And she began narrating her ghost story. "Once, there was a school just like this one... and one dark and cold night, they had a campout just like this one," she began.

"Oooh, spooky," Autumn interjected.

"There was a group of people sitting around a campsite trying to get a fire going. Then a cloud passed over the moon, and it was pitch dark... When the sky cleared, and they could see again, all but three people were dead... torn to pieces by a mysterious assailant! The three left were... a preppy party girl... a nerdy mad scientist tech guy... and a sweet, artistic girl."

 _ **Fifteen minutes later...**_

The faces of the students looked ashen as Cassandra continued narrating the story. Cassandra had to restrain herself from laughing at the looks on their faces. They looked like they were about to pee their pants.

"The last victim reached up. With their dying breath, they pulled off the killer's mask, and saw the face of the artist!" Cassandra finished.

"What?! Artists are a peaceful people!" Autumn exclaimed.

"I could see it. All that angst...It's always the quiet ones." Nishan remarked.

"Hey!" Autumn pouted.

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Nishan pointed out.

"Well, Cass, the night's almost over!" Payton said.

"Yeah! It was a good night. Kinda sad it has to end, though." Cassandra wistfully said.

"Though I'm kinda surprised no-one has coupled up here at the bonfire," Payton commented.

Cassandra smirked at this and asked rhetorically, "Sure about that?" and she pointed her head towards Autumn and Julian. Autumn's head was lying on Julian's shoulder and they were holding hands. Autumn looked up at Julian and she smiled at him before planting a gentle kiss on his lips. Julian blushed at this and he turned to look at Cassandra, who winked at him and smiled.

Payton gasped and squealed, "OMG! So cute! Did not see this coming, Cassandra! I actually thought you and Julian had a thing for each other!"

"Naah...Figured that we worked better as close friends..." Cassandra trailed off.

She remembered that discussion that she had with Julian two weeks back about their status of their relationship.

 _ **Two weeks ago...**_

Cassandra walked into the Jock Hangout, gym bag in hand after a long day of school and was eager to put in some work on the training dummy. She entered the changing room and got dressed in her classic black yoga pants, workout shoes and sports bra. She walked out and went towards the training dummy and began working on her punches and kicks. For about 20 minutes, she trained in silence, the only thing playing was music she had set up on her phone. She was so engrossed in her martial arts that she didn't notice Julian come in and go to the changing room nor did she notice him sneak behind her. She only noticed when he put his hands over her eyes and everything became dark. She gasped in surprise and tried to wiggle out of the firm hold but she couldn't. She then smelt a familiar waft of spicy, cinnamon cologne and instantly, she knew who it was.

Cassandra smirked deviously and she elbowed Julian in the gut, who gave out a groan of pain and she took his arm and twisted it slightly and raised her arm in a fist and stopped it a few inches from his face. "Hey there, Vega," Cassandra greeted with a sultry smile on her face.

"Sup, Cass," Julian gasped out. "Damn, you got skills."

"I haven't shown you the full set yet," Cassandra teased as she let go of his arm and relaxed.

Julian straightened himself up and smirked, "Oh, I'm willing to see your skills at work."

They got themselves into fighting stances and Julian began by throwing a few jabs and crosses Cassandra's way, all of which she blocked effortlessly. Cassandra retaliated with a few of her own and changing them up with some kicks, one of which landed on his arm. He hissed slightly in pain and Cassandra saw this as an opportunity to do a footsweep. She hadn't realized that Julian had been faking and he jumped over her leg and tackled her. They both landed on the training mat, with Julian straddling her.

Cassandra purred, "I never knew you play dirty, Julian."

"Don't act like you don't like it, Sage," Julian said with a slight growl.

They both laughed at this and Julian then asked, "When are you ever going to make good on that flirting, anyway?"

Cassandra looked at him then smirked once more. She crossed her legs around his neck and brought him down on the mat then she straddled him in turn. She brought her face near his and brushed her lips against his cheek and whispered, "I don't know, Vega. Do you want me to make good on it?"

Julian put a hand on top of her thigh and another behind her neck. "I certainly wouldn't be complaining about it."

Cassandra simply smiled and she asked, "What about Autumn?"

Julian gave her an uncomfortable look and enquired, "What about her?"

"I see the way you look at her, Julian. You like her a lot. Don't think I haven't noticed those looks you give her when you think no-one's watching. I know this much," Cassandra elaborated.

"She wouldn't like me, Cassandra," Julian said after a while of silence.

"Says who? She likes you too. The both of you are too scared to make a move on the other just because you think you'll mess up. You better ask her out before someone else does."

"What? You Dr. Love too?" Julian asked with some sarcasm in his tone of voice.

"No. I'm a friend who cares, my dear," Cassandra replied.

They looked at each other for a moment, Julian digesting what Cassandra said before nodding. "Okay, I'll think about it."

"And Julian, to whether I'll ever make good on my flirting, here's your answer," and Cassandra leaned down and gave him a deep and passionate kiss which caught him by surprise but he returned it with the same passion she gave before Cassandra pulled away and stood up. She offered her hand in assistance and Julian took it. Cassandra helped him up and told him, "Think about what I said."

She walked off to the showers, her fingertips on her lips as she smiled leaving Julian with some food for thought.

 _ **Present Time...**_

Cassandra was drawn out of her flashback when Payton began handing out cupcakes to everyone. "I don't know who brought these, but they sure look good," Payton remarked.

"Let's take a picture guys!" Autumn said enthusiastically.

Everyone huddled together for the photo. "Okay everyone! Say bonfire!" as she snapped the photo. The group posed, cupcakes in hand. Once done, they dispersed. Suddenly, Julian's phone buzzed with a text. As he looked down at the text, Cassandra was about to have a bite of her cupcake, that is until Julian smacked it out of her hand with a yell, "Don't eat that!"

Cassandra gasped in shock and asked, "What the hell?"

Julian just shook his head and showed Cassandra the text he got. Cassandra's eyes widened in understanding and surprise. She looked at Julian and they nodded their heads in understanding. They went round the camp stopping people from eating the cupcakes. From one student to another they went yelling, "Don't eat that cupcake!"

The other students were understandably shocked but they took the duo's word for it and helped them spread the word round.

Cassandra looked around for anyone still with a cupcake in hand. She saw Autumn and Nishan about to devour the treats. Problem was, they were on different sides. Talk about dilemmas. She ran for Autumn, bounding over tree roots and slippery patches of grass.

"Autumn! Don't eat the cupcake! It's a prank!" Cassandra shouted.

Autumn froze, the cupcake barely touching her lips.

"A prank?!" Autumn exclaimed.

Cassandra pulled it out of her hands and she panted, "Hearst High. Ipecac. Long story."

Cassandra spun around... and saw Nishan running a chemical analysis on the cupcake with a pocket lab kit. "Hmm. Ipecac. Odd choice of frosting, if I may say so..." he said to himself.

She let out a sigh of relief and led Autumn back to the campfire, where the others had gathered once more in confusion.

"Would someone please explain why we had to throw away perfectly good cupcakes?" Payton enquired.

"Those perfectly good cupcakes would have had you living on the toilet the whole night, sweetheart," Cassandra replied bluntly.

Payton's mouth formed an 'o' and Autumn asked, "Who would do such a thing?"

Just then, a car pulled up next to the campfire, and a group of Hearst High cheerleaders rolled down the windows...to reveal the faces of Kara, Mia and the other cheerleaders from Hearst.

"How's the little campout going? Enjoying your cupcakes?" Kara asked gleefully.

"Of course you would be the ones behind this prank," Cassandra snorted.

"Just a little present from us to you, sweetheart," Mia said, blowing a fake kiss to her and twiddling her fingers.

"Yeah? Well, it turns out that your stupid plan was too stupid to work. No one ate your cupcakes!" Payton pointed out angrily.

Mia gasped in shock, "What?! How... how'd you know?"

"Someone must've warned them. No way they're smart enough to figure it out on their own. Don't worry, girls. We'll figure out who the traitor is," Kara sneered.

Kara's car sped off into the distance, leaving the others to stare after them. Cassandra gulped, "Welp. That's gonna be trouble."

"Ain't that the truth," Julian agreed.

The rest of the night went on without a hitch, though for Cassandra, she felt that there was more drama on the horizon. And boy, was she right.

 _ **Author's note:**_

 _Hiya guys!! Super sorry about this late update, but school has been a killer and I was struggling with some parts of the story. Anyway, I decided to ship Autumn and Julian for this story. I saw that they were a good match for each other. I guess I felt that Cass and Julian had feelings for each other but Julian's feelings for Autumn were much stronger and Cass didn't want to ruin her friendship with Julian, hence deciding to be close friends with him rather than date. The song for this chapter was It's Always A Good Time by Owl City. The flashback song was Down by Fifth Harmony. Anyway, thanks for being patient and following this story. Not too sure when I'll update next but I'll do my best! Reviews and ideas are welcome as always but no flames please! Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	8. The Turncoat

Cassandra was seated under a tree deep in thought. It had been a week since the school overnight and obviously, another week of drama with Hearst. They had broken into the school and stolen their Homecoming trophy and sent a text to Julian to go for it. Obviously, it had been done to lure Julian out so that Max could execute his petty vendetta against him. Luckily, Julian wasn't alone in this fight. Cassandra, Jason (an actor), Taylor (a gamer) and Nishan assisted him. Jason and Taylor went ahead to scout the area they were to meet Max and found that he had two guys hiding in the bushes, their intention to jump him. Nishan built a paintball gun to spray them with paint when the time came. Oh, the Hearst group got their just desserts when the time came. Not only did they get their trophy back, but Julian, Cassandra and Nishan had the satisfaction of seeing Max Warren and his cronies covered in paint and running off. The incident had prompted the nerds and hackers to put some improvements to the security system in place. They were not about to go through something of the sort again, not if they could help it.

Cassandra was so engrossed in her thoughts that she failed to notice Julian was standing in front of her. Julian called her name severally and snapped his fingers in her face. She leaped up slightly in surprise and Julian smiled in amusement.

"Penny for your thoughts, Cass?" Julian asked as he sat besides her. She smiled slightly and shook her head, "Naah. Just reflecting."

Julian looked at her and shrugged. "Anyway, I just got another anonymous text from the same blocked number," he informed her just as Autumn and Payton walked over.

"Sup, guys?" Payton greeted casually.

"Hey, Payton. Nothing much, just another anonymous text from our mysterious informant," Cassandra mentioned flippantly.

"Again?" Autumn enquired as she frowned slightly. "Who keeps sending us these?"

"Maybe it's someone looking to transfer," Cassandra said thoughtfully.

"And by the looks of it, it's someone from Hearst. The intel provided has all been schemes that Hearst has been hatching against us," Julian pointed out. "Question is, why? I mean, Hearst hates us. And why can't they just come here and do it the old-fashioned way," he added.

"Ahem!" Payton cleared her throat. "Who cares? If we've got a traitor helping us, that's good, right?"

Julian scowled, "I don't like it. We don't know anything about this person. It could be a trick."

"Well, you know the saying; don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Cassandra remarked. "Every text has helped us out so far. Julian, what does the latest message say?"

Julian took out his phone and showed her the text. "Just a warning that Max is up to something. The text said there's no details yet, but it's something big... and we should get ready," Julian said.

"Max will stop at nothing to have the school shut down, especially since it's flourishing," Cassandra said with a frown.

"But what is his plan? I don't know about you, but I'm tired of getting blindsided by that guy," Julian persisted.

"Um...if you don't mind me saying, I happen to know a guy who can help us on that end," Autumn piped in.

"Oh? Do tell." Cassandra's head perked up in interest.

"There's a guy I know at Hearst; his name is Wes," Autumn continued.

"Is there anyone you don't know, Autumn?" Payton asked jokingly.

Autumn's cheeks turned red and Julian laughed. "She's a sweetheart, that's why."

"You think he's the one texting us?" Cassandra curiously asked.

"Doubt it. Wes never helps out unless there's something in it for him," Autumn replied.

"Aah... So we're dealing with a person furthering his own self-interests," Cassandra said knowingly.

"I know he sounds kind of sketchy, but he can usually get you any information you need, and he's not loyal to Max and Kara. I can set up a meeting... but he's always got an angle, and you might not always like how things go when he gets involved."

Cassandra looked at her then nodded, "Alright. Do it."

They stood up and walked towards the classrooms for their afternoon classes. Autumn lingered behind so as she could make the call to set up the meeting.

"I don't like this, meeting up with some guy we don't know," Julian scowled, sharing his misgivings with Cassandra and Payton.

Cassandra gave him a confused look. "Wait, didn't you go to the same school with this Wes guy?" she asked.

"Sure, but I've never heard of this guy."

Cassandra looked at Payton. "What about you? Have you heard of this guy?"

Payton shrugged her shoulders. "Nada."

'Huh, so he's also good at covering his bases.' Cassandra thought.

Just then, Autumn got in step with them, a small smile gracing her face. "The meet is set. He'll meet us at Gül Park after school."

They arrived at the classrooms and sat at their desks for the afternoon period.

 ** _(Time skip)_**

After school, the group walked over to Julian's car, a white 2008 Ford Mustang. Pure American muscle, as he liked to call it. They entered Julian's car and he set into drive, starting their twenty minute journey to Gül Park. A thought occurred to Cassandra and she looked at Autumn.

"Hey, Autumn, how is it that you know Wes anyway?" she asked.

Autumn squirmed in her seat uncomfortably and she responded nervously, "Let's just say that we have a history."

"What kind of history?" Julian asked, scowl on his face.

"We went to the same school before Hearst..." Autumn trailed off.

Cassandra could sense that there was something Autumn was omitting and she filled the gaps in for herself about the nature of her relationship with Wes. However, Payton squealed in delight and clapped her hands. "Ooh, you two had a kissing history, didn't you?"

Autumn's cheeks were tinged a deep pink and murmured, "Maybe."

Payton squealed some more and she scowled, "Can we all just focus on the present, please?"

The drive continued on in silence, the radio playing some rock music. Cassandra sighed and looked out the window, wondering what she was getting herself into.

They arrived at the park after the twenty minute drive. Julian parked the car and they got out. They walked over to the park benches, where a sketchy, good-looking teenager with shoulder-length brown hair, dressed in ripped jeans and a dark brown hoodie was seated, his right leg on top of his left. He had a cocky smirk gracing his face as he enjoyed the sunlight on his face, eyes closed. He opened his brown eyes the moment he heard footsteps coming towards him.

Payton whispered to Autumn, "Damn. I never you knew that your informant would be so...cute."

The moment he saw Autumn, he gave her a soft look and smiled. "Autumn. Hey. Haven't seen you around in a long time. Hearst High isn't the same without you."

Autumn gave him a soft look of her own, mixed in with an apolgetic smile. "Yeah, I'm sorry I transferred without telling you... but I had a feeling you'd know."

"Yeah, I have my ways. But y'know, someday you're going to have to stop running away from your problems."

Autumn's expression turned into an annoyed one. "Look, I didn't come here so you could recap my life. We need your help."

Wes looked at the rest of the group, taking in each and every one of them until his gaze reached Cassandra and looked at her for a few moments. Cassandra raised her eyebrow at him questioningly and she crossed her arms. His cocky smirk returned and looked back at Autumn. "I get it. A business call. Okay, so what can I do for you?"

Julian jumped right in, "We know Max is planning something big against us. We want to know what it is."

Wes whistled out loud and ran his hands through his hair. "Max, huh? You sure are good at picking enemies. That guy's tough to get information out of. I could tell you what's really in the cafeteria tacos. I could tell you who next year's Prom Queen will be. But getting to Max? That'll take some finesse."

Cassandra took a step forward and drawled, "Oh, don't tell me this task is too much for the mighty Wes. I've heard things about you, Wes. One of them is that you're a professional."

Wes stood up and walked over until he was face-to-face with her. "Hold on, Cassandra Sage-Beckett." Cassandra's eyes narrowed slightly the moment he used her full name. "You didn't let me finish. I said it'll take some finesse not that it'll be impossible."

Cassandra motioned for him to go on. He continued, "It's not going to be easy...meaning it'll cost you."

Cassandra nodded. "Alright then. Name your price."

"Eager, are we?" Wes smirked. "Information. I deal in secrets, so I'm going to need some secrets in return. There's going to be a break up at your school, soon. A big one. When it happens, I want to know who broke up with who, who cried about it the most, and what was said after. I want to know EVERYTHING. Got it?"

"What has that got to do with anything?" Autumn asked with a confused expression on her face.

"Maybe something, maybe nothing. Let's just say there might be an interested party at Hearst High." Wes said mysteriously.

Cassandra thought about it for a while and then she nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Okay, I'll let you know."

"Okay then. Let's shake on it," and he held out his hand. Cassandra eyed it and shook it grimly, knowing there was no way out of it.

"Come back when you have the dirt on the breakup," and he winked at Cassandra as he walked away.

Cassandra stared at his retreating back for a few moments and finally asked, "Why do I feel like we just made a deal with the devil?"

Autumn looked at her with understanding and replied, "Wes gets that a lot. But you just need to get to know him."

Julian shrugged, "Yeah, I think I'll pass on that. We just have to get him what he wants to know."

 ** _A few days later..._**

Cassandra and Autumn were walking with Jessica when they heard voices screaming at each other in rage further ahead. They saw it was Eric and Bella (prep and cheerleader, respectively). The duo kept shouting at each other until they realized that they had an audience. They gave each other one last look of anger before they walked their separate ways.

Cassandra looked at Autumn and Jessica, mouth agape at what they had just witnessed. Autumn whispered in Cassandra's ear, "I think this might have been the breakup Wes was taking about."

Cassandra nodded and Autumn added with a murmur, "So sad."

"Tell him what happened here," Cassandra instructed Autumn, who complied and took out her phone and texted Wes about the breakup.

 ** _Twenty minutes later..._**

Cassandra, Autumn and Julian were behind the Hearst High gym, where Wes had instructed them to be for their meeting. Cassandra's gut was telling her that something was not right. Julian voiced his discomfort. "I don't like this at all, Autumn. I don't trust this guy."

"Yeah, chickie, this really reeks," Cassandra agreed.

"C'mon, guys. Let's just trust him. I do," Autumn defended.

Just then, Julian's phone went off with a text. He pulled it out of his pocket and informed them, "It says 'TRAP!' "

Autumn's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? Wes wouldn't set us up. That's impossible," Autumn stated.

Cassandra tensed up at this, her senses screaming at her to get away. Just then, Mia ran towards them, phone in hand as she waved at them frantically.

"Julian and Cassandra! You idiots, do you not know how to read?! Get out of here! Wes set you up! He told Max everything!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, Mia was the one helping us?" Julian asked in a surprised manner.

"Oh no, I'm too late! Look out!" Mia shouted. Cassandra looked up and saw two guys in letterman jackets lean out of the windows to pour down buckets of spoiled mayonnaise. Thick, smelly globs rained down on them. Instinctively, Cassandra pushed Autumn out of the way and managed to push Julian away from most of the mess. The mayo slopped down on Cassandra, Mia and a few splattered bits on Julian.

"Eeek! It's running down my back!" Mia exclaimed in disgust.

"Oh, God, no!" Cassandra gagged in disgust as she wiped some of the mayonnaise from running down her face.

Max and Kara came round the corner, hooting in laughter until their faces turned to one of horror at the sight of his sister and her co-cheerleader, respectively, amongst the group.

"Mia... what are you doing down there? Why were you trying to warn them?" Max demanded.

Mia's face changed to one of fury and shouted, "Yes! Yes, I was!"

"What?! Why?" Max exclaimed.

"I've been trying to help them!" Mia snapped at him, shocking him into silence. "I told them about your dumb plan to steal their plays and about the cupcakes."

"I can't believe it..." Kara said in disbelief, shaking her head.

"WHY would you do something like this?" Max asked, his face a mask of fury.

"Hearst High isn't the same for me, Max. Dad loves you. You're his perfect football hero son. You get to do whatever you want. He treats me like a prisoner. He won't let me date who I want to date. He won't let me do what I want to do. And you and Kara are even worse. If I stay at Hearst High, I'll always be living in your shadows, and I'm sick of being told what to do! I wanted to leave, but there'd be nowhere to go if you guys messed up Cassandra's school. So I told them about some of your stupid plans." Mia told him bitterly, unshed tears in her eyes.

"Mia... calm down," Max tried to pacify her as he stepped near her, but Mia held up a warning finger and she growled, "Don't."

Max stopped in his tracks and continued, "You don't know what you're saying. Look, there's not even going to be another school soon. You're wasting your time."

Cassandra gave him a sharp look and exclaimed, "Wait, what?!"

Max gave her a mocking grin, "No big deal. Just that the mayor, who happens to play golf with my dad, heard about your little school starting up... And he thinks it's time for a little surprise inspection. You know, just to make sure you school is really providing the best educational environment for its students... And, of course, if it turns out that your school is found lacking, then... well, I guess he'd have no choice but to shut it down..."

Cassandra clenched her fists in fury and growled at him, "Fuck you."

"You can't, sweetheart," Max responded smugly and gave her a two-finger salute before turning around and walking away with Kara.

"Well, that happened," Julian commented.

"Let's get this mess cleaned up," Cassandra told them. "And I think I'll be holding the mayo for a while," she added with a grimace.

"Amen to that," Julian muttered.

"Wait, what about Mia?" Autumn asked.

"Huh? I'm... I'm with you guys. Obviously." Mia said nonchalantly.

"Back up. Explain that 'obviously' part." Autumn demanded with narrowed eyes.

"Well, I totally warned you about the cupcakes..." Mia started.

"That YOU helped bake." Autumn pointed out.

"And I warned you about Max trying to steal your plays. And hello? I'm just as covered in mayo as the rest of you!" Mia continued, her hands emphasizing on her mayo- covered clothes.

"It's true. It's not like Hearst will welcome her back after her betrayal," Cassandra agreed.

"I still say we can't trust her. If we learned anything from Wes, it's that we shouldn't trust anyone at that school." Autumn frowned, her hands crossed on her chest.

"Just give me a chance, okay? That's all I'm asking. Please," Mia pleaded.

Cassandra smiled at her and beckoned to her, "Come on, let's go hose off. After that, we'll get you some admission papers."

Mia beamed and the group began their walk back to Avalon High, a new student with them.

 ** _Author's note:_**

 _Yay! I managed to finish this chapter in time. And finally, Ice Queen Mia Warren joins the Home of the Knights. So, Mia has an interesting backstory, which makes her among my favorite HSS characters. I liked how it added to her character. I'd recommend you read another story called **'The Cheerleader' by** **Rumbelle**_ 1\. _I_ _consider it to be Mia's official story, though the author never finished it. I loved seeing the world through Mia's eyes... but oops... I've already said too much! Just read it and you'll understand what I mean. As always, reviews and ideas are welcome but no flames, please! I also apologize for any typos or grammatical errors made. Not too sure about the next update but I'll do my best.Thanks for reading! Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	9. Little Miss Warren

**_A few days later..._**

Cassandra was waiting for Mia at the school admissions office. If she were to be honest, this seemed crazy. 'The' Mia Warren: Max Warren's sister, former Hearst student and cheerleader, Ice Queen, Mean Girl; whatever you wanted to call her, had joined their school. And if her gut was right, this was likely to cause some drama.

Cassandra heard the sound of high heels and she looked up. The guest of honour had finally arrived. Mia was dressed in an emerald green dress and had emerald green pumps. Her hair and makeup were immaculately done. Her ruby red lips matched her handbag. All in all, she looked more like a freaking model rather than a student.

"Hey, Cassandra," Mia greeted.

"Hey, Mia," Cassandra smiled.

Mia fell in step with her and they began walking down the pavement. The other students stared and whispered as they walked. Cassandra could feel all eyes on them and she had to say, she was not surprised at their reactions. Mia also seemed unfazed at all the attention she was receiving.

"You don't seem intimidated in the least by all the attention," Cassandra remarked.

"Honey, let me tell you a little something; I'm a Warren. We're taught to embrace it. I'm used to all the attention. In fact, I love it," Mia drawled.

Cassandra began showing her round the school; from the fields to the classes to the Hangout, where Mia already began pointing out how she needed to make it 'Mia' style. Cassandra smiled and chuckled at this. She liked her already. The girl was as boss as could be and she didn't take no guff. She knew what she wanted and went after it.

Once they were done with the tour, they began walking towards the fountains. As they were arriving at their destination, Payton stormed over, a furious look on her face.

"Cass, I just heard the craziest rumour that you let this evil cheerleader into our school," Payton said, one hand on her right hip, another indicating towards Mia, giving her a withering glare, uncharacteristic of Payton.

"Ah, I remember you, Payton!" Mia spat in contempt. "The prep girl that ruined my party."

"That was an accident, and way better than trying to ruin someone's social life on purpose! We don't need people like you here."

Mia's lower lip trembled in hurt, showing that Payton's cruel words had stung. "But..."

Cassandra decided to intervene. "Look, Mia's the one who sent us the texts about what Hearst High was plotting. Can you at least give her a chance?"

Payton adamantly refused. "Hell, no! You don't know her like I do. Trust me." Payton sized Mia up and down in contempt. "NO ONE is going to want her here. We all HATE her," she finished with a frown on her face and she walked off with a sneer on her face.

"But... I'm... popular. And attractive. And rich. Why would people hate me?" Mia asked with a waver in her voice.

Cassandra gave her a sympathetic look and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "First rule of the game here at Avalon, chickie: people don't like you just because you're popular. You're popular because people like you." Cassandra explained.

"That sounds like a Taylor Swift song to me," Mia commented with a mild wrinkle on her nose.

Cassandra just raised an eyebrow in amusement and beckoned her. "Come on. For example, Nishan is shooting a sci-fi fan film today: Dr. Who, by the sounds of it. He needs someone to play a role in it. It'll do you some good to bolster your image with him."

Mia gave her a look of askance and asked, "Do I look like the type who does sci-fi films?"

"Mia..." Cassandra stressed.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it," Mia gave in.

Cassandra beamed at her and they went off to the Nerd Hangout where Nishan was shooting the film. He saw Mia and Cassandra enter the Hangout and he walked over to them.

"Cass. How can I help you?" He enquired.

"Actually, Miss Warren here wants to help you with your Dr. Who sci-fi fan film," Cassandra stated.

Nishan's mouth went agape in shock and surprise. "Mia! You really want to help with my fan film? You were always so mean to be back at Hearst High..."

"Well, Yeah, now I'm not, okay?" Mia said with an edge to her voice. "I'm totally into... whatever this thing is about..." she grumbled.

Nishan ignored her tone of voice and he said excitedly, "Oh, you'll be absolutely perfect! I was hoping we'd find a pretty girl to play the sassy companion..."

Mia seemed pleased by his compliment then her face changed to a confused one. "Whose sassy companion am I, exactly?"

"The Doctor's!" Nishan replied flippantly.

"I am NOT playing doctor!" Mia scowled.

Nishan laughed, "That's so something a companion would say. Roll cameras!"

He signalled two filmmakers to start filming.

A Filmmaker girl, Katniss was filming while her partner, Zedd was acting as director. "And...action!" He cued them.

Cassandra smirked at this and she left them to their devices. She got out for a bit, where she found an angry Payton waiting for her.

"Why? Why would you help her, Cassandra?" Payton demanded hotly. "She's mean, spiteful, rude..."

Cassandra couldn't take anymore of her bad mouthing and she raised a hand to silence her and hissed, "Enough, Payton."

She narrowed her eyes at Payton, who fell silent at her look.

"I think you're being really unfair to her. You haven't even gotten a chance to know her well and you've jumped to conclusions already. Sure, she was a mean girl at Hearst but give her a chance here at Avalon. You might be surprised," Cassandra lectured.

Payton looked at her for a few moments and she walked off without a word. Cassandra saw her back and sighed. She was in no mood to antagonize anyone, but at the same time, she wouldn't apologize for speaking the truth. After all, this school had been built on the ideals of fairness and equality. Everyone was welcome here and they got a second chance to turn their lives around.

Mia got out of the Nerd Hangout, a small smile gracing her face. Cassandra looked at her and asked, "How did it go?"

"It was actually kind of fun. Nishan was really grateful that I helped him out. He seems to be warming up to me," Mia replied.

"Excellent. But don't forget that he's not the only one in this school. Now let's go meet up with Autumn. She's always got extra supplies in case anyone wants to join her."

At the Artist Hangout, Autumn, Cassandra and Mia were in front of blank easels. Mia asked her, "Okay, art girl. What should I paint?"

"Well, you're a soul in search of artistic expression. I was actually curious about what you were to paint," Autumn replied.

"Hmm... How about a pretty landscape?" Cassandra suggested.

"Are you sure? How do I know what kind to draw?" Mia asked.

"Just think of a happy memory you have and draw that," Cassandra replied.

Mia nodded and began her art session, her brush working furiously on the easel.

 ** _A little while later..._**

Autumn looked at Mia's art in appreciation. "Hmm... a sunrise against a beautiful white beach..."

Mia smiled at Autumn's words. "It's the beach house where I used to go with my Dad and brother. I've got a lot of happy memories there."

"This is really good, Mia." Autumn remarked.

Cassandra, Autumn and Mia cleaned up and went to the cafeteria for lunch. Trays in hand, they grabbed a table and sat down and began chatting. Nishan joined them a little while later. As they were engrossed in conversation, they heard a voice call out. "Hey! Mia!"

They saw Julian coming to join them and they scooched over for him. He joined them and Mia greeted him, "What's up?"

"I get that you're going around, doing this whole win people over thing... and I'm not buying it. You had a sweet setup at Hearst High. And something about this feels like you're not telling us the whole story," He said.

"What do you mean? There's nothing to tell," Mia said with an incredulous look on her face.

"Bullshit, Warren. Come on. There's something you're not telling us," Julian scoffed.

The rest of the table fell silent as they waited for Mia's explanation. Mia looked around at their expectant faces and she groaned in exasperation. "Ugh, if you must know."

She sighed and began, "My dad is super strict. He won't let me do what I want to do... and he didn't approve of the person I liked. She went to another school thanks to his influence and my dad didn't want me associating with anyone who wasn't under his thumb at Hearst. And as long as I'm living under his roof AND going to a high school he runs, my dad's never going to let me out of his sight. He'd have total control over my life. At least now I've got some time to myself every day."

Julian looked at her and nodded, "I get what you're saying, kid. Welcome to our school," and he put an affectionate arm around her shoulders.

 ** _After lunch..._**

"This place is amazing! I'd stay here all day! In fact, I wish I COULD. My dad and Max have been FURIOUS ever since I transferred," Mia said wistfully.

"Well, I'm glad you're here, Mia," Cassandra told her happily.

"I'm amazed. This actually didn't totally suck. I never thought I'd make a sci-fi movie or paint anything. Kara wouldn't have let me do that stuff I'd tried. But now that I did, I have to say it was actually... kind of fun! If this is what it takes to be popular here, well, I'd pick it over Hearst any day."

"Told ya."

"Though, I do miss being on the cheer squad. I wonder if the cheerleaders will let me join up," Mia wondered.

"After school, we can check it out," Cassandra told her.

 ** _(Time skip)_**

Cassandra and Mia went to the gym where the cheerleaders were warming up. Mia had changed into black shorts, sneakers and a green tank top. Cassandra called Bella over and asked if it was okay if Mia joined the team.

"I'm kind of an expert in cheerleading. At Hearst High, we've won dozens of awards," Mia pointed out in her defense.

"Hold your horses, girlie. Don't expect to come over here and take over the cheer leading squad just like that," Bella frowned.

Mia scowled, "I'm overqualified to be head cheerleader, and you know it!"

"Easy, Mia! First things first; get on the squad," Cassandra said coolly.

"Right. I do want to be on the team. I know I can help! Let me take a look at your routine, Bella. Maybe I can give you some pointers."

"Ha! Our routine is perfect!" Bella snorted.

However, Bella got the cheerleaders to perform the routine and Mia observed carefully. Once they were done, Mia remarked, "It's awesome! But what do you think of something like this for the ending?"

Mia did a running, tumbling pass with a triple somersalt that ended in the splits. The others whooped and clapped. Cassandra went to the bleachers and watched the rest of the practice go on. After that, Mia ran up to her and Cassandra said, "Now, it's time for you to face Payton."

"Wait, what?" Mia exclaimed. "No way!"

"Yeah, way!"

"I thought she hated me! She ruined my party and has it out for me!"

"Come on, Mia. She forgot about it. She's a total sweetheart. Just get to know her better."

Mia nodded reluctantly and they went to the Prep Hangout where Payton was seated alone, engrossed in her phone. Cassandra called, "Payton!"

She looked up and walked over to them. "Yeah?" she responded warily.

"I think you and Mia need to know each other better. How about a trip to the mall?" Cassandra suggested.

"What?!" Payton exclaimed.

"Trust me, I don't like the idea any more than you do. You might smother me with a handbag or something," Mia grimaced.

"Give it a chance. Besides, you said you were going to grab some new Givenchy shoes at the Scarlatti store," Cassandra wheedled.

"Wait, you're going to that 30 percent off sale? I wanted to grab a Tom Ford suit!" Mia exclaimed in delight.

"No way!" Payton gasped, her eyes sparkling in excitement.

They went off to the car park, talking rapidly about designer brands that were going to be present at the sale. Cassandra thought in satisfaction, 'Mission accomplished.'

Cassandra started walking off the field for football practice when Autumn called her.

"Hey! Cassandra!"

Cassandra turned around and Autumn caught up to her. "I've got big news! I found out more about Max's plan to shut down our school. The school inspection is going to be conducted by three members of the state board.And I even found out who one of the board members is! Mr Kernsprickle, the President of the local Actors' Guild!"

Cassandra raised a questioning eyebrow. "So what does that mean for us?"

Autumn elaborated further. "It means we've got an edge! We know that he cares about... performing arts! We've just got to do something to impress him."

Cassandra nodded and told her they would discuss the matter further after practice. This was something they needed all hands on deck for.

 **Author's note:**

 _Hey hey hey! So, another chapter up with Mia Warren joining Avalon. I don't really have much to say on this chapter since it was just acting as a filler for other events to come. And the title is a shout out to my number one reviewer and fan, StanfordBound2020! You're awesome! Oh, and are you excited that Pixelberry released a new Choices book on High School Story??! OMG! I freaking love it. Though I miss the whole idea of creating your own school and all, but still! I love it!!! : ) Anyway, reviews and ideas are always welcome but no flames please! I apologize for any grammatical errors or typos made. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	10. All Hands on Deck

**Two weeks later...**

 _They call me a menace_

 _They say that I'm cursed_

 _But somethin' about me is makin' 'em jealous_

 _So listen and learn_

Cassandra was punching furiously at the training dummy in the Jock Hangout, dressed in her workout gear. Short breaths were escaping her mouth and she was imagining Max's smug face as the head of the wooden dummy. God help the one who crossed this girl in her current mood. Rock music was playing in the background on her phone.

Two weeks earlier, they had held a play for the first member of the board, Mr. Kernsprickle. Autumn had given them more information on Mr. Kernsprickle's preference for Shakespeare plays. They decided to perform Romeo and Juliet. Mia was appointed director because of her penchant for bossing people around, Jason and Kimberley were Romeo and Juliet, Julian the fight choreographer and the others were to help with the creating of sets and costumes for the play. The day of the play, everything went smoothly with the actors' performance on point, until Autumn got wind that Mr. Kernsprickle complained that he preferred musicals.

 _I herd 'em like cattle_

 _Cause I'm surrounded by cowards_

 _And I don't give a fuck when I walk into battle_

 _And that's why I got all the power_

 _I'm where you wanna be_

'This guy sure is picky,' Cassandra thought anxiously.

They had to choreograph a dance and a musical number with the dancers and musicians in thirty minutes which was some kind of record. All in all, it went well and Mr. Kernsprickle was super impressed and he gave the his vote.

One down, two to go.

 _Ain't no one ahead of me_

 _All of my enemies made a decision_

 _I_ _t's better to follow me_

 _I make no apologies_

 _All of my sins I would repeat and I repeat_

 _Cause I'ma be me 'til the death of me,_

 _oh yeah_

Next, they had to hold a science fair in the school. Nishan had contacted the second board member, Professor Edwin. They had to get everyone to participate in the science fair regardless of clique. Julian did an experiment on arm wrestling, Mia did a comparison on attractiveness vs. popularity and quality of clothing to household income and Payton did an experiment on the psychology and physiology of partying. Nishan's experiment was to be the pinnacle of the science fair;a fully operational Venusian Vapor Volcano.

 _I can smell your fear_

 _The only reason that I'm here_

 _Is to wreak havoc_

 _Everybody prayin' that I'll change, yeah_

Professor Edwin went around the room, looking through the various projects the students had done. She had been rather impressed by the degree of creativity and innovation in the school, until Nishan's experiment backfired. The moment he turned that volcano on, everything went to hell. It rumbled, shook and then violently exploded, erupting in paint and goop that splattered all over the room and all over Professor Edwin. Needless to say, Professor Edwin was very, very angry and she left in indignation.

 _Maybe one day but tomorrow_

 _I'll be back at it_

 _Cause bad habits they die hard_

 _We live fast we die hard_

 _Go against me you'll die hard_

 _Die hard_

A blame game arose the moment Professor Edwin left between Mia, Nishan and Autumn since she had helped Nishan with painting the volcano. Only Cassandra's intervention prevented any further blow-up that would have arisen.

As they cleaned up the mess, Cassandra found burnt-up firecrackers at the bottom of the volcano.

"Nishan, did you put firecrackers in the lava-mist?" Cassandra had enquired.

"Of course not! The volcanic eruption is a chemical reaction, not the result of firecrackers..." Nishan trailed off.

If no-one in the school had put these firecrackers, then it only meant that this was Hearst's work. Cassandra growled in anger at this and she clenched her fists around the burnt-up firecrackers in her hand.

Once she was done with the cleanup, she went to her place of Zen, namely the Jock Hangout, more specifically to the workout dummy where she could take out all her fury on it. Hearst had ruined their chance to stay open by making them lose one of the board members vote.

 _I dine with the blood on my hands_

 _Thrive when I'm beatin' the man_

 _All I learned in the pen_

 _Is never get caught_

 _Just get out and hit it again_

Thump, thump, thump, thump. Punch, elbow, kick, backhand and growl had been her routine for the past hour, and this girl was not about to stop. That's where Julian found her, furiously working on the dummy as if it was the source of all her problems, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.

"Cass?"

She didn't hear him and continued punching on the dummy.

"Cass!"

No response.

Julian grabbed her by the arms to stop her and she resisted at first and tried wiggling from his firm grip but he was unrelenting.

"That's enough, Cass!" Julian firmly told her.

"Let me go, Julian!" Cassandra demanded.

"No, I won't!"

Cassandra tried escaping but he wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug and she wiggled until she finally gave up. He led her to a bench and he guided her to sit next to him.

They sat down in silence until Julian asked her gently, "How long have you been here?"

"I don't know, ever since we finished clean up at the science fair," Cassandra mumbled.

"Let me see your hands," Julian requested.

She complied and Julian took her hands in his and looked at them. Her knuckles were raw and red as she had neglected to wrap some bandages before proceeding to kick and punch the crap out of the dummy. Weirdly enough, her anger had numbed the pain that she should have been feeling.

 _Straight outta context_

 _Ain't see me come like it's phone sex_

 _Ain't hear me tick like a Rolex_

 _Cause I'm keepin' a nuclear conscience_

 _I fly like an atom bomb_

 _In a world riddled with conflict_

"Cass, really? You know that this is not good for you. Why didn't you use any gloves or bandages?" Julian scolded.

He rose up and went for the first aid kit that was on the wall and came back with it. He got out an ice pack and broke the press and iced her hands.

"Julian, Hearst just ruined our chance to impress Professor Edwin just because of some petty vendetta they have against us. We have done nothing to antagonize them and yet they're doing all this shit to us. Why?" Cassandra asked him, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, listen to me, Cass," Julian whispered and cupped her face and wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "That's how bullies work. They don't really need a reason to make you feel anything less. But don't let them get to you. You're a strong one. Keep your head up and never forget to come up for air when you feel like you're drowning. We're all here for you."

Cassandra lay her head on his shoulder and sobbed silently and Julian just let it happen. Once she was done, she wiped her eyes and smiled at him. "Thanks, Julian. I really needed that."

 _Hate that you need me_

 _Wanna destroy me but you can't_

 _You're gonna deploy me in the end_

 _Better believe that I'ma be me 'til the death of me,_

 _oh yeah_

"No problem," he smiled back. "Besides, it's not over yet. We have one more member of the board we have to impress."

"Oh?" she quirked an eyebrow in interest.

"Yup. I'll give you more information when the others come by."

Cassandra nodded and continued to ice her bruised fingers as they waited.

 **Fifteen minutes later...**

The crew was gathered in the Jock Hangout where Julian was debriefing them on the final board member.

"...We just got word from the third member of the board, Mr. Javellana. He's an ex-basketball star, a huge sports nut... and he wants to check out our sports program firsthand."

"We don't have any sporting events coming up," Cassandra pointed out.

"No worries, Cass. Mr. Javellana took care of that for us. Apparently, the's all buddy-buddy with the principal at Hearst, so they worked out an exhibition match... A co-ed basketball game against Hearst High."

"Of course he would have," Cassandra sighed. "Now, it's all a matter of recruiting players."

"Count me in. I actually have played some basketball," Autumn piped in.

"Good girl," Cassandra nodded in approval. "Julian, you're our star athlete. We can count on you right?"

"Um... Actually Cass, basketball's not really my thing. If you want me tackling guys on the court, sure thing."

"And there's something else. Max is a basketball star. He's been playing since I was six years old. My dad would make me watch all his games. At this point, I can coach an entire team," Mia said with a grimace.

Cassandra gave her a knowing smile and Mia let out a sigh.

"Yes darling, I will coach the team."

Cassandra grinned and she said, "Okay people! Tomorrow, the real work begins! Head on home and get some rest."

 _I can smell your fear_

 _The only reason that I'm here_

 _Is to wreak havoc_

 _Everybody prayin' that I'll change, yeah_

 _Maybe one day but tomorrow I'll be back at it_

 _Cause bad habits they die hard_

 _We live fast we die hard_

 _Go against me you'll die hard_

 _Die hard_

The next day was one hell of a day. The gang was assembled in the gym ready for practice. Mia had requested for assistance from the student govs, gamers and filmmakers. The gamers was helping create plays for the game, the filmmakers footage and the student govs, well, were errand people.

Cassandra, Autumn, Julian, Ross, Seamus, Contessa, Aaliyah and Sean were all lined up on the basketball court and Mia blew her whistle, basketball in one hand.

"Okay people! Your training begins now! Are you ready?"

They all shouted back, "Yeah!"

Mia nodded and threw the basketball to Julian and told him, "Let's see what you've got, Vega!"

Julian caught the ball and ran up to the hoop and threw the ball. It crashed off the backboard. Mia loudly blew her coach's whistle.

"Wrong, wrong, WRONG! Julian, you're travelling. Remember, you're supposed to dribble! And you're throwing that ball like it's a football. You're never going to make a basket that way," she informed him.

Julian gave her a sheepish look and apologized, "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

"Well, I'm going to help put them out of their misery. Give me twenty laps around the court, and dribble the ball while you run!"

Julian did as instructed and began his drills. Mia passed another basketball to Autumn.

"Art girl, show us what you can do."

Autumn easily caught the ball, dribbled down the court, and gracefully lobbed the ball into the hoop. The others appauded and Mia was actually shocked.

"Impressive moves, Autumn," Mia remarked.

Autumn blushed, "Thanks. My dad's a big basketball fan. Playing one-on-one is basically the only father-daughter bonding we do."

"You still need to work on your speed though," Mia added. "Sprints up and down the court."

Autumn went off and Mia threw a ball towards Cassandra who caught it.

"Cass, you're up!"

Cassandra dribbled down to the three point line and took a shot, which entered with a swish. Mia smiled at her but still made her run sprints. Basically, the entire team ran, regardless of how good they were. When they were running plays, if anyone made a mistake, they would do ten push ups, ten sit-ups and five sprints.

"Wow, I didn't realize Mia could be so... hardcore," Autumn commented after Julian messed up a lay up.

"Thank God she's on our side," Cassandra told her.

 _And if love is real_

 _Maybe I'm just too bad_

 _To remember how good it feels_

 _My heart is still_

All week long, they trained hard and intensely. Their hard work began to show when Julian actually managed to go an entire practice session without tackling someone on the court and the speed of the team was at an all time high. Whenever they did lay-ups, barely anyone missed a shot.

On Thursday, Nishan and Payton walked into the gym with boxes in their hands.

"Hello, everyone," Nishan called, pausing the training. "We have a surprise for all of you."

"Shoes for each and every one of you!" Payton squealed excitedly.

The team came over and Nishan and Payton handed each of them a box. Cassandra opened hers and took out one of the shoes. It was black and blue in colour, with some white stripes. Just like the school colours. They looked like Jordans. At the bottom middle of the shoes was a clear substance that looked gooey.

Cassandra whistled in appreciation and Julian remarked, "Awesome shoes!"

Then he frowned and poked in the middle of the shoes asking, "What's this mushy stuff?"

"That's my special bouncy goo. I call it B-Goo. Or GooB. Patent pending," Nishan replied. "It's designed to make you jump higher according to the given weight and give you a spring in your step."

"AND they're fashionable. I used color blocking and our school colors to...," Payton quipped.

Julian interrupted, "Yeah, whatever, they're a color."

Payton rolled her eyes and sighed. Julian put on the shoes and tested them out. He was surprised at how high he could jump. "Look how high I can jump!"

Cassandra tested hers out by doing a back flip. Autumn on the other hand was busy on her phone, nibbling on her bottom lip. Cassandra noticed this and asked her with her eyebrow raised, "Anything wrong, kid?"

Autumn sighed and replied, "I just got a text from Wes. He wants to talk to me."

Julian had been busy dribbling the ball until he heard this. He sneered and caught the ball in his hands. "That guy?"

He threw the ball to Cassandra, who took a shot that entered with a swish. "Again?"

Autumn frowned at him and folded her hands across her chest. "I know you don't trust him, but he did help us figure out what Max was up to."

"And with good reason. He lured us into Max's trap!"

"Wes gets very specific results."

"Well, let's just say I don't trust his 'very specific' way of doing things."

Autumn scowled at him and sighed, "Look, if he says he needs to talk, then I'm going to meet him."

"And we're coming with you," Cassandra spoke up.

Autumn nodded and the trio walked out of the gym to meet 'Sketchy McSketcherson' as Julian called him.

They drove to Gül Park to meet Wes and he was waiting at the bench where they first met him. Wes saw them approaching him and he smirked in amusement.

"Nice entourage, Autumn. I'm starting to think you don't trust me," Wes remarked.

Autumn asked rhetorically, "Can you blame me, Wes? After what happened last time?"

"Yeah, well, has it ever occurred to you that I'm spending all this time trying to keep your school OUT of trouble? Speaking of which... I want you to cancel the basketball game."

Cassandra gave him a once-over and asked, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Is this your scheme? Trying to get us to blow our one chance to save our school?" Julian pointed out.

"You really don't trust me," Wes said dryly.

Cassandra snorted, "No shit, Sherlock."

Wes ignored Cassandra's quip and continued, "You'll come up with some other way to show the board member that your school deserves a shot. Trust me, you are not winning this game. I've heard Max and Kara talking. They're going to play dirty. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Wes gave Autumn a pointed look. Autumn shifted uncomfortably and told him, "I'm no damsel, Wes. I'm not afraid of them."

"I'm serious. Don't play in this game. It's going to get ugly," Wes implored her.

Autumn shook her head and said, "No, Wes. I can't do that."

Wes scowled and said, "You want to ignore me now? Fine. It's your loss."

He stood up and stormed off. Cassandra sighed as she ran a hand over her face and asked no-one in particular, "Why can't things ever be simple for once? Oh God."

 **The Day of the Game...**

Cassandra was all dressed in her black and blue basketball uniform as she entered the locker room. The rest of the team was getting ready and she smiled at them warmly.

"Are you guys ready?"

Julian grinned at her and out an arm around her, "You know us, Sage. We Knights are always ready."

"Kinda nervous," Autumn piped up.

Julian gave her a warm smile and said, "Don't be. We have this in the bag."

Just then, Mia entered the locker room, looking confident dressed in black yoga pants, emerald Jordans and an emerald hoodie. Cassandra whistled and remarked, "Looking good, Mia."

"I know, darling," Mia smiled. "Okay, people. Huddle up."

The team gathered around her and she spoke, "Okay, team. This is it. The big game. It all comes down to this." Cassandra was standing next to her and she continued. "Hmm... what does my dad always say to Max?" She thought for a while before snapping her fingers. "Oh yeah... In this house, we're WINNERS. What do we train for? To WIN. If you want hugs and cuddles, go live with your mother!"

The team was silent at this, so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Cassandra finally spoke up, "Wow, that was..."

"Too much?" Mia finished as she noticed their looks of surprise.

"Pretty much," Julian said.

"Oh, fine. I guess just go have FUN or whatever, and if it's not too much trouble, think about trying to win. Y'know, to save our school," she said, rolling her eyes as they ran out of the locker room cheering.

The stands were packed with the crowd cheering for their respective teams. Mr. Javellana, Principal Warren and Lance were at the front stands, applauding politely. Cassandra caught his eye and Lance winked at her and mouthed, "Good luck, sweetie."

Cassandra beamed and nodded. They ran too the centre where the Hearst team joined them. Cassandra, Julian, and Autumn took the court, facing off against Max and Kara.

"Well, well. A football player and an artist in the starting lineup. So this is what the bottom of the barrel looks like." Max remarked.

"Sounds more like the setup for a dumb joke... 'Little Miss Artistic and the Dumb Football Guy walk into a basketball game...' I don't know what the punchline is, but it probably involves them making out!" Kara added in laughter.

"Don't worry, Kara. I'm sure they'll be too busy awkwardly flirting to actually play ball," Max continued his dissing.

Cassandra rolled her eyes at their lack of original disses and she nearly retorted at them but Mia beat her to it as she walked up to them.

"Back off, Max! I'm coaching them and you'd better be ready!"

Max's eyes widened. "Mia?"

"I should've known you'd really enjoy the whole traitor thing," Kara sneered.

"If you cupcakes are done being a bunch of jerks, let's start the game," Cassandra scowled.

 _I can smell your fear_

 _The only reason that I'm here_

 _Is to wreak havoc_

 _Everybody prayin' that I'll change, yeah_

 _Maybe one day but tomorrow I'll be back at it_

 _Cause bad habits they die hard_

 _We live fast we die hard_

 _Go against me you'll die hard_

 _Die hard_

The referee came and called for Cassandra and Kara to take the centre. He had the ball in his hands and as they took the centre, they scowled at each other. The referee threw the ball up and Cassandra jumped for it and ripped it towards Julian. Julian grabbed it and began dribbling, only for Max to slam his shoulder into him and knock him down and take the ball and make an easy lay-up. As he celebrated, Mia was busy being flabbergasted.

"Ref? Where were you on that one? Ugh."

Autumn helped Julian up and he groaned, "Wes warned us they would play dirty, but I'm ready."

The game continued and Autumn threw the ball in to Julian. He dribbled the ball back to the team's end of the court, and passes the ball to Cassandra. She grabbed the ball and dribbled it. She thought as she observed her surroundings, 'Max is covering Julian... I can take the shot or pass it to Autumn... I should pass to Autumn.'

She decided to pass the ball to Autumn. Cassandra called her, "Autumn! Heads up!"

Autumn caught the ball and sunk an easy shot. The Avalon supporters cheered and Mia nodded in approval at their team work. The game went on in that vein. Whenever Hearst pushed, they pushed back and they gave as good as they got.

 **Around half-time...**

The game was a narrow one, Hearst was like three points ahead of Avalon, since Max had managed to make a three-pointer. Autumn was busy dribbling the ball when the unexpected happened. When she was near the basket, Kara hooked her foot around Autumn's ankle and shoved her.

Autumn fell with a scream and her head slammed hard against the floor. The ref blew his whistle, and the game stopped. Cassandra could hear Payton's cry of surprise and the crowd murmured. Julian ran to Autumn and shook her.

"Autumn! Autumn, can you hear me? Autumn, please, open your eyes," Julian inquired, worry laced in his voice

Julian lifted her up in his arms as she moaned in pain as they walked to the locker rooms where the nurse came for her for check up. As they waited, Payton burst into the locker room and asked, "Will she be fine?"

Mia answered worriedly, "Autumn's going to get checked out by the school nurse. I think she'll be fine... I hate to say it, but maybe we shouldn't finish the game."

Julian's fist slammed into the locker where he had been standing silently.

"Are you crazy? We can't let them get away with this!"

"Look, I don't want to see anyone else get hurt! You don't understand Max. "Maybe it's better if we give it up."

"No! No quitter talk. I'm not going to let them get away with hurting Autumn. We can't let them get away with that." Julian looked at Cassandra and implored her, his chocolate brown eyes boring into hers. "Cass, tell me you're with me."

The entire team waited for her response with bated breath and she stood up and faced Julian. She smiled and said, "Insieme per la vittoria. Together, we stand and we shall be victorious. We're going to win this for Autumn."

The team cheered and the duo hugged each other. Just about when Mia was about to speak, the door to the locker room slammed open and a furious Wes walked in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Mia asked with a scowl.

"I warned you. I told you to stay out of the game. I told you they were going to play dirty."

Wes slammed the locker room door behind him and walked to the center of the room.

"So you came to rub it in our faces?" Julian asked sarcastically.

"No. They crossed the line. I'm here to help you take them down," Wes replied.

"I've been watching them practice. I know their tells," he continued.

"Out with it then, Wes," Cassandra told him.

"Just listen. Kara's terrified of getting hit in her beautiful face. If you fake like you're going to throw the ball at her, she'll break. As for Max, when he's dribbling, he sticks out his tongue every time he's about to crossover from one hand to the other. Just wait for that to happen, and you should be able to steal it from him, easy," Wes informed them.

"Any tips on how to avoid getting pummeled?" Contessa asked.

"Easy. Be the fastest one out there," Wes replied flippantly.

"Sure... 'Easy.' " Contessa gulped nervously.

Contessa was made Autumn's substitute and they rushed back out to the court. And so, a few minutes later... the ref whistled to resume the game. Kara inbound the ball to Max. He dribbled the ball... and stuck out his tongue. Contessa reached out and snagged the ball from Max.

Max yelled in surprise, "Hey!"

Max lunged for Contessa, but she spun around and ran down the court. Kara blocked her path and told her, "You aren't getting past me!"

Contessa replied, "Watch me!"

She faked throwing the ball at Kara's face, who yelped in fear and covered her face. Contessa jumped and shot the ball. It sailed gracefully through the air... and sunk perfectly into the basket!

Contessa rejoiced, "Amen!"

Julian shouted for joy and ran for Contessa and lifted her up on his shoulders.

"Nothing but net! We win!" he shouted.

Max growled in frustration, "Arrgggh! Unbelievable! This is all your fault, Kara!"

"My fault? You're the one that let them steal the ball, hotshot!" Kara retorted.

They went away bickering and Cassandra ran up to Lance, who hugged her and whispered in her ear, "I'm proud of you, Tolah."

"Thank you, Uncle Lance," she replied.

"Get your team ready. We're going out for pizza. My treat."

Cassandra nodded and Mr. Javellana cleared his throat and they looked at him. He stated in a deep voice that suited his slightly built stature, "Ms. Sage-Beckett, I have to say that I was skeptical about this institution, but I'm happy to be proven wrong as you have an excellent sports program around here. It reflects in the way you played today; teamwork and strength. You certainly have my vote."

He held out his hand and Cassandra shook it with a smile. "Thank you, sir."

Mr. Javellana turned to Lance, "Mr. Sage-Beckett, you have done well creating this school with your company. Excellent work."

He shook his hand as well and he walked off. Cassandra and Lance looked at each other with a beam. Their school was safe for another day. She walked off to get changed with the rest of the team and she found Autumn waiting for the team in the locker room.

"Autumn! You're okay!" Cassandra exclaimed.

Autumn nodded and said, "Yep, the nurse says I'll be fine... and it sounds like our school will be too!"

Wes entered the locker room and Autumn looked at him with a smile, "I hear you helped, Wes. Thank you."

"Just doing the right thing, that's all," he shrugged. "Unfortunately for me, I don't think Max and Kara are going to see it that way. I get the feeling people at Hearst aren't going to be throwing me any parades..."

"Well, you could always transfer here," Cassandra offered.

"Whoa, Cass. You sure? Sketchy McSketcherson?" Julian enquired, eyebrows raised.

"He helped our cause. Makes him right by me," Cassandra stated with a smile.

Julian was silent for a moment and then he nodded, "Alright then, I trust you, Cassandra. If you're sure."

The team changed and they went out for pizza on Lance's bill at the local pizzeria, Wes among them as Avalon's newest student.

 **Author's note:**

 _Hey hey hey! Oh God, school has been kicking my ass and I haven't been able to update as soon as I wanted. Well, add that to finding a way to add all three school board member events to this chapter without making it too long. Sigh, but I managed it!! : ) The Italian words Cassandra says are a nod to the Assassin's Creed game, more specifically to the character, Ezio Auditore da Firenze. The song for this chapter was 'Wreak Havoc' by Skylar Grey. (Felt it kinda matched Cassandra's mood to kick Max's ass.) Well, if you noticed Lance calling Cassandra 'Tolah', that's her middle name, actually. And if Cassandra seems hostile to Wes, it feels authentic because she doesn't entirely trust him until he helps their cause. So, I'm not too sure when I will be updating next, but I will do my damnest to update ASAP. Forgive any typing errors in this story as well as grammatical errors. Reviews and ideas are always welcome but no flames please. Bye bye! Canary out! : )_


	11. The Plot

The next week, Cassandra was leading Wes to the Slacker Hangouts which was all decorated with graffiti and had a skating ramp. Two skaters were doing stunts and were hooting and cheering as they did so. Wes whistled in amazement at the exterior.

Wes asked, "This place is impressive. You aren't messing around, are you Cass? About making this place the best?"

He looked at her with his ocean blue eyes. Cassandra gave him a warm smile and she replied, "This place was built on the ideals of fairness. It was to ensure that everyone had a place and felt welcome from day one."

"Well, it's working just fine."

Cassandra beamed and they entered the Slacker Hangout. There was a TV and a black couch. At the corner was a blue cooler and a silver fridge. The walks were decorated with graffiti and a mural of broken skateboards. Two slackers were lying on the couch, not noticing the duo looking at them. Cassandra put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. The two slackers shot up in surprise, covering their ears and they looked at Wes and Cassandra.

"Yo, Mary and Jordan. This is our newest slacker, Wes," Cassandra introduced Wes, placing a hand on his slightly muscular arm.

Jordan and Mary stood up and greeted him and they began getting acquainted. Cassandra stood in the background, looking at them with a smile. After a couple minutes of small talk, Wes walked back over to her as she checked the time on her wristwatch.

"C'mon. We're going to be late for Ms. Young's Biology if we don't hurry it up," Cassandra informed him.

Wes nodded and they walked to their classroom for first period.

(Time Skip)

It had been over a week since Wes joined the school and there were some students who were understandably wary of him while some others had warmed up to him considerably. He was a total enigma and nobody knew much about him. He was either with the other Slackers, Cass and the gang or by himself. All people knew about him is that he had helped them win the game and gain the Board's approval to stay open. However, they were about to know something new about him; he was the ultimate schemer.

During one of their lunch breaks, Cass was seated with the gang that consisted of Autumn, Julian, Payton, Nishan, Mia and Wes. They were having some random conversation about anything and everything under the sun and then Wes piped in, cutting Nishan's analysis about the upcoming Justice League movie.

"Let me ask you something, Cass. Don't you ever get tires of always playing defense against Hearst?"

The table fell silent as everyone turned to look at him. Julian then inquired as he took a bite of his turkey sandwich, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, maybe it's time we took the fight to them. And I think I know exactly how we can do that."

Cassandra thoughtfully took a sip of her apple juice and nodded her head, "Whatever it is... count me in."

"Same here," Autumn agreed.

Julian cracked his knuckles, "A little offense, a little payback... I guess I'm in. So long as you can promise me we'll make Hearst pay!"

Wes gave his signature smirk, "Oh, by the time we're through with them, Max'll be begging us for mercy! I'll be back... with a plan. In the meantime, set up a place for us to meet."

Wes stood up and left the others staring at his back. Nishan said excitedly, "This will be like a fight between the Jedi and the Sith!"

"Pipe down, Obi-Wan Kenobi. We aren't even sure what this plan is. Let's see how it goes," Cassandra told him.

 **After lunch...**

The gang met up with Wes at the Prep Hangout as they had free period. Wes had a map rolled up in his hand and they moment that they all sat down, Wes cleared his throat and began speak," You all know why I called you here today. Since your school opened, Hearst High has been trying to shut you down. Hearst High is like a bully. If we don't fight back, they'll just keep messing with us. Now, it's time we take the fight to them."

The others nodded and murmured in agreement. Cassandra asked," What kind of fight we talking about here, Deveaux?"

"He's talking about social sabotage, right?" Payton piped in.

Wes nodded and affirmed, "That's right, Payton. I'm working on a plan, and I think we just might be able to pull off revealing the biggest school scandal this town has ever seen."

Nishan asked, "What's this scandal?"

"We all know Hearst High isn't exactly the fairest place around. The football coach plays Max instead of Julian just because Max's father is the principal..."

"Ain't that the truth," Julian muttered.

"But the corruption goes deeper than that... much deeper. And I've got a plan to expose it," Wes continued.

Wes was interrupted by a phone call and he went outside to answer it. The others looked at each other, unsure of what Wes had in mind. Mia asked warily," Anyone have a bad feeling about what he's about to say?"

Autumn nodded and the others just shrugged. Payton just giggled at a text she got on her phone. Wes came back in and stated, "Right, let's continue."

"What exactly is this scandal all about?" Cassandra asked him, eyebrow raised.

"I'll get to that. Right now, you all need to listen up. To pull this off, everyone has to follow my instructions," he answered.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up. You're here a couple days and suddenly you're our leader?" Julian challenged.

Wes smirked at him and replied, "I'm the guy with the plan, so I guess that makes me the one in charge."

He unrolled the map onto he table and the others looked at it. It was a map of Hearst High. How Wes had got his hands on it, they had no idea.

"Here's how it's going to go down. We wait for a weekend night, when fewer people are around Hearst High. Then we break into their library..."

"Wait, what? Wes, I'm not sure if you're aware, but that's breaking and entering..." Autumn trailed off.

Wes looked at her resolutely, "It's the only way."

Autumn looked down at her hands and he continued, "Hearst uses a closed computer system. That means we need to get Nishan into the school so he can hack into the system on-site."

Nishan looked at him in surprise and spoke up, "On-site? Um, just so we're clear, I'm much more of a 'very safe, very remote location' kind of guy..."

"I do this kind of thing all the time," Wes told him dismissively. "We just have to keep an eye on the clock. Here, look at the map. We'll have a solid minute and a half to run the distance between their library and the edge of their campus..."

Nishan interrupted him, "A minute and a half?! That's crazy! What's your backup plan if I can't keep up? Juvenile hall and a permanent record? Visits every other weekend?"

Payton's phone went off with a text alert and she looked at it and giggled and responded to the text. The others looked at her strangely.

"Babe, you listening?" Cassandra asked her.

Payton looked up at her and answered, "Huh? Oh... sorry! It's just, I've got this big date planned... and I'm sooo excited about it! I just can't stop texting about it. You guys understand, right?"

"Oh, yeah, of course. A date. That's much more important than the elaborate and dangerous heist we're all working on," Wes told her sarcastically.

"Point noted," Payton sighed and put her phone away.

Wes looked around in frustration, "Is it just me or does no one here realize that this is serious? The principal and Max have gotten away with their crimes for too long. We've got to take those scumbags down!"

Mia stood up in anger and slammed her hands down on the table.

"Hey! I don't support what they are doing but never talk about them like that! They're my family!" Mia told him angrily, jutting a finger in his direction.

Julian stood up and said sarcastically, "Well, this meeting is off to a great start, Wes. Why did I ever doubt you? Oh, right, because you're a terrible leader..."

Everyone but Cassandra began talking at once, pointing out different flaws in Wes' plan. Wes couldn't take anymore of it and he grabbed the map off the table and whistled. Everyone fell silent and Wes spoke, "Okay. We gave it a shot, but this whole team thing isn't going to work. Thanks for playing, everyone. But I'm out of here."

He stormed out of the Hangout and Julian grumbled, "I knew a loner like Wes couldn't just come in here and pull off leading a team. What a waste of time."

He walked out of the Hangout as well, Mia and Nishan following him. Cassandra looked at Autumn and pleaded, "Could you talk to Wes? He listens to you."

"I... I hate to say it, Cassie, but maybe it's for the best. Wes has never been a team player, much less a leader," Autumn sighed.

"You surely don't mean that, do you?"

Autumn gave her a hollow smile and said, "Look at what just happened! Things got tough... and he ran. Do we really want to risk building a plan around him when we can't count on him to be there?"

Cassandra digested this and realized that she had a point. Still, they had to try.

"Still, we can't give up. We need to do this and Wes is the man with the plan," Cassandra pointed out.

"Good luck," Autumn told her.

Cassandra nodded in acknowledgement and ran out of the Hangout and began looking for Wes. She went to the Slacker Hangouts but he was not there. She checked out the empty classrooms and bleachers in the football field but to no avail. She decided to talk to him the next day and went to the parking lot and lo and behold, Wes was there about to leave the campus.

Cassandra yelled, "Yo, Wes! Wait up!"

She ran up to him as he stopped and gave her a wary look.

"What do you want?" he inquired.

"I wanted to talk to you about that meeting. We can still pull this off."

Wes gave her a humorless smirk and told her, "Very optimistic of you, Sunshine, but like I said, we gave the whole team thing a shot. I'll figure out a way to take down Hearst on my own."

Cassandra scoffed, "Bullshit. Deveaux. We both know that if you could've done it on your own, you would've done it already. You came to us because you need help."

Wes was silent at this and she pressed, "Just talk to me. I know we can figure something out."

She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a warm smile. His hard façade cracked and he smiled and told her, "Well, Sage. Hope you know how to talk and walk. I have some things to take care of at my place."

They walked side by side and Cassandra engaged him in some conversation and she managed to get Wes to tell her a few stories about himself. For instance, that he lived a distance away from the school alone in a trailer. True enough, after a long walk, they arrived at a run-down trailer near Gül Park. In front of it was a half-blind bulldog that was asleep. Wes patted the bulldog and he took out the key from his pocket and opened the door. He stepped in and Cassandra followed him in. It was neat inside with a brown couch on one side and a tiny kitchen on the other. The other part of the trailer had a relatively neatly made bed. The walls of the trailer were cream in colour. Wes reached into the cupboard and took out a pack of dog food and went outside to feed the dog. Cassandra looked at a picture which lay on a desk near the couch and saw a younger looking Wes smiling with a man who resembled him and looked a few years older than him.

Wes stepped in and Cassandra whirled around as he closed the door. He turned and looked at her and stated, "Now, where were we? You were just about to convince me to go back to your ragtag group of misfits and figure out a way to get them to actually pull off my daring plan."

Cassandra affirmed this with a nod of her head. Wes gave her his classic smirk and passed her to take a seat on the couch. He patted on the spot beside him in invitation and she sat next to him.

Wes then spoke, "Aight then. Give me your best shot, Sage-Beckett. Why should I step up to the plate and take one for the team and all that?"

Cass snorted, "Now you just saying sports metaphors."

"Look, my point is that I don't think your buddies have what it takes to pull this caper off... so why should I put in that kind of effort?"

His expression was a serious one and Cassandra chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. She had to tread carefully here. She sighed and stated," It's like I said, you wouldn't have come to us with this if you did not need our help. Secondly, Autumn needs you."

Wes chuckled humorlessly, "You don't know much about Autumn, do you? She isn't exactly a fan revenge... or of me."

She gave him a knowing smile and said, "Yeah, I'm aware that she doesn't like revenge..."

Her mind drifted off to the time that Autumn refused to take revenge on Kara for messing with Payton.

"Besides, whatever happened between the two of you can be fixed," Cassandra added with a wink.

Wes sighed and said, "I guess I'll give it another shot. Whether or not Autumn wants revenge, Hearst High went too far when they hurt her in the basketball game. And that means they need to be stopped." He stood up and added with a resolute look in his eyes, "I'm not going to let them have another chance to hurt Autumn."

Cassandra beamed at this and Wes stood up to grab some snacks from the kitchen. A few minutes later, he had a bowl of potato chips and two diet sodas in hand. He handed her one can and they began snacking without further ado.

"Hey, Cass?" he asked after a few minutes.

"I appreciate you coming to talk to me," he said.

"Don't thank me yet, Deveaux. We still have to convince the others to work with you. And that means we have our work cut out for us," she told him in a matter-of-fact voice.

Wes sighed but he nodded in agreement. They were going to have one heckuva time recruiting the others.

 **The Jock**

On Saturday, Wes, Cassandra and Julian were driving to the stadium to watch the game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Julian decided that the best way for Wes to learn leadership was from watching a football match. "You can learn a lot about leadership watching a pro team play," he had said.

Lance pulled some strings and got them three tickets to the game. Once they arrived, they sat at their seats and their eyes were on the game once it started.

"See how the quarterback is calling all the plays?" Julian asked him.

"Yeah, he's just shouting orders, and everyone listens to him. What's that supposed to teach me? To be louder?" Wes asked with a sideways glance at him.

"That's not it, honey," Cassandra told him.

"They're listening 'cause they trust him. They've practiced together. He knows them. He knows what they can do. And more than that... they know him," Julian pointed out.

Wes silently digested this advice with a nod of his head and then spoke, "Okay then. I think I see what you're getting at. I need to get to know my team, and they need to get to know me. That's the big moral, right? I can pull that off."

 **The Cheerleader**

"Mia is going to kill me, isn't she?" Janelle asked Cassandra and Wes with a worried tone in her voice.

Janelle was leading the duo to the gym where the cheerleaders were having a closed practice session. Wes placed a hand on her shoulder and replied, "Chill, relax. She'll thank you for this someday."

"You'd better hope so, Wes. You owe me big time and I intend to collect," she mumbled under her breath.

Wes heard this and he gave her one of his classic smirks.

"And I pay my debts, Janelle," he told her.

They arrived outside the gym and Cassandra spoke, "Here we are. Thanks. We'll take it from here."

Janelle walked off and Cassandra and Wes entered the gym casually and sat at the bleachers watching Mia lead the cheerleaders through a grueling workout while pop music played in the background. that is until she saw the two of them. She cut the music and stomped towards them, a scowl on her face.

"What is this?! You think you can sneak into our cheerleading practice?" she hissed at them.

"Not exactly air-tight security around here..." Wes told her casually.

Cassandra nudged him with her elbow and gave him a pointed look. He shrugged and Cassandra rolled her eyes.

"Look, I told you earlier that I don't want to be part of your plan to take down my dad and brother. And you know what's changed? Nothing."

Mia folded her arms around her chest and gave them hard looks. Cassandra knew she had to tread carefully and she stood up and walked over to Mia. She placed her hands over her arms and said," Just hear me out. The people at Hearst deserve justice. I know things were pretty good for you and your brother there... but it was unfair to a lot of other students. Do you really think it's fair for some people to work really hard and get nowhere while others get everything handed to them? Think about Julian spending all season watching the football team from the bench."

Mia's hard look began to crumble, "He did deserve a chance to play."

"He did. He deserved to be judged fairly. And so does everyone at Hearst High. I mean, just imagine if you were one of those people. How would you feel if you couldn't get treated fairly because you weren't born with the right parents?"

Mia sighed and sat down next to Wes and Cassandra sat next to her. She ran a hand through her blonde locks and said, "I... I guess it would suck. I'm not saying I agree with what my dad's doing. I'm just saying that it's complicated. I'm not exactly ready to wage an all-out war against my family."

Her expression showed conflict and Wes spoke up, "We totally get it. Morality isn't exactly all black and white. But we can't stand by and let this rot at Hearst continue either. You don't have to do what you won't be comfortable with."

"I know. Thanks for coming to talk to me." She smiled at both of them. "I know I have been avoiding this but I'm with you to the end."

She stood up and shooed them out of the gym.

"Okay, okay. Now get out of my gym! I have a practice to finish!"

As they walked out of the gym, Cassandra thought, 'Two down, three more to go.'

 **The Nerd**

Cassandra and Wes were hiding in the bushes which were a significant distance from the Nerd Hangouts, waiting for the inevitable scream that would be made. Wes had a stopwatch in his hands and was going to start timing Nishan's athletic prowess in a few.

A scream was heard and Wes murmured, "That's my cue."

He tapped the button on top of the stopwatch and began timing Nishan's speed. And boy was he fast. They watched him run while a were-panther with robot legs (Kimberly in disguise) chased after him roaring.

"Damn. This guy could give Usain Bolt a run for his money," Cassandra remarked.

"Ain't that the truth," Wes agreed.

Nishan was across the campus in one minute and a half and Cassandra and Wes stepped out of the bushes. Nishan saw them and yelled, "Cass! Wes! Run! There's a were-panther after me, and it's got robot-legs! It's nature's ultimate vengeance against scientists for playing God!"

He turned around only to see Kimberly wipe off the immaculately done make-up.

"Huh? What in the name of Captain Cthulhu is going on?" Nishan asked confusedly.

Wes handed him the stopwatch without a word and Nishan was taken aback by what he saw.

"One minute and half? What?!"

"That's the amount of time it took you to sprint across the school campus. If you can do that here, no way you'll have trouble doing the same thing at Hearst High," Wes explained.

"The Force is with you my friend," Cassandra added.

"Well, I did not see that coming. You have my support for the Heist," Nishan said happily.

Nishan walked off, whistling a happy tune that sounded suspiciously like the Age of Wushu theme song. Cassandra just chuckled at his retreating back and beamed. Wes cleared his throat and remarked, "That now leaves us with Payton and Autumn."

Cassandra snapped her fingers and said, "I know how we can deal with Payton."

 **The Prep**

The duo walked towards the Prep Hangouts where Payton seated on a beanie bag and was busy tapping away at her phone, giggling all the while. She didn't notice their entry until Cassandra rapped her fingers at the nearby coffee table.

"Oh, hey guys. What's up?" Payton greeted with a smile.

"Payton, you've got to move up your date," Wes tod her abruptly.

"What? No way! I've been planning it all week!" Payton exclaimed.

"Come on. You know you won't be able to focus as long as you're still thinking about that date. While we've been talking to you, you've checked your phone for texts five times!" Cassandra pointed out with a frown on her face and and a wave in the direction of her phone.

"Your heart's in the right place but we need you at 100 percent," Wes told her gently.

Payton sighed and nodded. "Okay, let me see what I can do."

Payton took her phone and wrote a message to her date, moving it up and the duo nodded in satisfaction. Now Autumn was their last challenge and this was going to be tricky.

 **The Artist**

Cassandra and Wes were in the Jock Hangout and were discussing how to get Autumn in the loop. Wes was seated at one of the workout benches while Cassandra was working out on the salmon ladder.

"C'mon, Cass. You know how Autumn can be about revenge. She's a nice girl, a good girl," Wes was saying.

"I get you, dude. But I think the two of you need to talk. It's not that she doesn't want to do this caper; it's an issue that she can't trust that you'll be there when she needs you," Cassandra told him, grunts of exertion in between each word as she went up and down the ladder.

"I don't know, Cass," Wes said, his facial expression showing conflict.

"The both of you have drifted apart. You just need time to talk and make amends. Trust me."

Cassandra jumped down from the top and smiled at him and he smiled back. She wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Okay, Cass. I'm in," Wes said.

"Good, coz here she comes," Cassandra informed him as Autumn entered the Hangout. Wes gave her a look of surprise as Cassandra took a bottle of water from the cooler and gave him a wink.

"Hey, Wes. I know you wanted to talk, so here I am," Autumn said softly.

"Um, yeah. Let's go to the fountains," Wes suggested.

Autumn nodded in agreement and they walked off. On the other hand, Cassandra got ready to go for football practice, hoping that Autumn would be on board for the caper.

 _Wes' P.O.V_

Autumn and I walked towards the fountains where there were some benches and picnic tables nearby. I led her towards the benches and I sat down and she sat next to me. I looked around and immediately felt at peace. The sound of the water spewing from the fountains coupled with the flower hedges gave a serene atmosphere.

"It sure is peaceful here, isn't it?" I remarked.

Autumn gave him a genuine smile and laughed. "I know right? This is one of my favourite areas in the school. I come here for inspiration and to think..."

I loved that smile on her. It made her eyes seem brighter and made me rest easier that she was happy. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

We made some more small talk, talking about the old days at Twin Branches, about Owen and Kimi and all the other drama we left behind. At the end of it all, we were laughing and smiling.

"I know I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time. At least... not at me," I commented her.

Autumn placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "I always have fun with you."

"Then what's wrong? I know you've been avoiding me."

Autumn gave me a sad smile and sighed, "I just don't always agree with how you solve your problems. Like when you transferred to Hearst High... I thought you were coming there for me. But then you started getting all buddy-buddy with Max and Kara. I felt like you betrayed me. You turned on me when everyone was against me."

Her eyes welled up with tears and she wiped them away. I was surprised at this and decided to tell her the truth.

"I had to get in with them! I had to figure out the system at Hearst. They were the fastest way to do that."

"I get it. It was all part of some scheme. But you didn't exactly tell me that. I know you were solving the problem your way, but it still hurt to see you with them."

She looked down at the ground and put her hands on her knees. I never knew that she had felt this lonely and a stab of guilt struck me.

"Autumn, look at me," I requested.

She faced me but she still wouldn't meet my eyes. I tipped her chin up and our eyes met.

"Autumn... haven't you ever heard that you need to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer? Well, that was a mistake. I didn't keep you close enough. You're the only friend I've got. Guess I forgot what it was like."

I gave her a humorless smirk and looked back at the fountains.

"Wes..." she started but I interrupted whatever it was she wanted to say and looked back at her.

"If you're looking for the guy that's going to be at your side at a pep rally or the big Homecoming Dance, you can keep looking... I'm never going to be that guy. But if you can settle for someone lurking in the shadows... someone who wants to keep you safe... then here I am. I'll always be on your side, Autumn."

She looked at me and surprised me by giving me a hug, one that felt quick and awkward.

"I don't always understand you, Wes. And I don't agree with how you do things. But I'm with you," she told me in a hushed voice.

As we separated, I looked behind Autumn and saw Cassandra looking at us, arms folded and giving us a knowing smirk. Autumn saw the direction of my gaze and turned around and Cassandra looking at us. She blushed and stood up.

"So what now? We give that big meeting another try?" Cassandra asked.

I cleared my throat and replied, "Um, yeah, sure. I'll start making some calls..."

 _Third Person P.O.V_

After a vigorous practice, Cassandra went and took a shower at the Jock Hangouts and got dressed in her black, ragged high waist jeans, grey shirt and boots. She went to the fountain area to check in on Autumn and Wes. On arriving, she saw Autumn hugging Wes.

'They must have resolved whatever issues they had,' Cassandra thought.

She was happy that Autumn was on board, but at the same time, she felt sad. Why on earth did she feel that way? Regardless, she shook it off and hid her emotions with a smirk. She enjoyed seeing them squirm a bit and Wes offered to call in the rest of the gang.

 **(Time Skip)**

 **At the Prep Hangouts...**

The entire team was seated at the table with Wes standing and about to reveal his plan.

"Let's try this again. Is everyone ready to listen?" Wes asked.

Julian said, "I'm with you."

Payton switched her phone to silent and waved it in front of Wes.

"Zero distractions over here!" she chirped.

Nishan stated, "I've been convinced that I can perform the necessary physical activities."

Autumn beamed at him. "And you know I'm in."

Cassandra clapped her hand and rubbed them eagerly, "Then let's hear this plan."

Cassandra, Julian, Autumn, Payton, Mia and Nishan watched as Wes laid out a map of Hearst High.

"So, as I was saying last time... If we can get into the Hearst High computer system, we're golden. And that means getting into the school. But we'll have to be fast. We'll have maybe ten minutes before we're detected, tops," he explained.

"Which means I'll need to know exactly what we're looking for. Um. Which is...?" Nishan inquired.

"Nishan does raise a good point. You still haven't told us what this is all about. What's the big scandal that we're going to reveal?" Cassandra asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'll get to that. But first, there's still one missing piece in this puzzle... we're going to need one last person. Sakura," Wes stated.

Nishan jumped up and exclaimed, "Sakura?! Why her? What does she have to do with this?"

Wes answered, "Whether or not she knows it, she's got the information that we need."

Nishan sighed in resignation and sat back down.

Cassandra hummed and chewed on her lower lip in thought. Then she finally spoke, "So all we need now... is to recruit Sakura to our school?"

Wes nodded, "You got it. And I've got a plan for it. I'll explain..."

 **To be continued...**

 **Author's note:**

 _Nya... Another chapter is up! This was one heck of a struggle! Writer's block, school work and trying to get the plot to work out. But thank God, I managed! So, Wes and Cassandra are becoming good friends and work together to get the team ready for the Heist against Hearst. Now they have to recruit Sakura. Let's see how it works out. Not sure about the next update but I will do my best to update ASAP! Sorry for any typos and grammatical errors. Please review and any ideas are welcome. Bye bye! Canary out! :)_


	12. List of Characters' Names

**So, this is a list of the characters' names. This is to avoid any confusion and to honour their various ethnicities as provided by Pixelberry:**

1\. Cassandra Tolah Sage-Beckett

2\. Julian Vega

3\. Payton Thomas

4\. Autumn Brooks

5\. Nishan Sharma

6\. Wesley Deveaux

7\. Sakura Yamagata

8\. Ezra Garvey

9\. Koh Aimoad

10\. Katherine Zhao


	13. Adventures in BANG

**_Last Time on Avalon High..._**

"Which means I'll need to know exactly what we're looking for. Um. Which is...?" Nishan inquired.

"Nishan does raise a good point. You still haven't told us what this is all about. What's the big scandal that we're going to reveal?" Cassandra asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'll get to that. But first, there's still one missing piece in this puzzle... we're going to need one last person. Sakura," Wes stated.

Nishan jumped up and exclaimed, "Sakura?! Why her? What does she have to do with this?"

Wes answered, "Whether or not she knows it, she's got the information that we need."

Cassandra hummed and chewed her lip in thought. Then she finally spoke, "So all we need now... is to recruit Sakura to our school?"

Wes nodded, "You got it. And I've got a plan for it. I'll explain..."

 ** _This Time..._**

The gang looked up at Wes expectantly on how they were going to recruit Sakura. Wes took out a picture of her, which showed her playing video games on her laptop, headphones over her ears, lips drawn into a scowl and deep in concentration.

Cassandra recalled this girl; pink hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, olive skin and dressed in a steam punk outfit. That day when they had gone to Hearst to investigate the quadrocopter thing...

"...the grading system at Hearst High is corrupt, but I don't have enough information to pinpoint the details. Sakura's obsessed with competition, and my sources confirm that she's been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst. If anyone has the data we need, it'll be her," she heard Wes say, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Cassandra nodded in agreement and licked her lips.

"So it's just a matter of recruiting her to Avalon?" Cassandra enquired.

"Exactly."

Julian propped his feet up on the table and spoke in his deep voice, "Then let's do this thing. I don't know about y'all, but I'm ready to stop Hearst before they mess with us again."

"There's just one problem... Hearst High is on lockdown. Only students with Hearst IDs are allowed to set foot on campus," Wes pointed out. "But there's still one way to reach Sakura. She always joins a multiplayer online game at lunch. If we get in the game, we can talk to her. Nishan, you know what I'm talking about..." he added.

"You're talking about B.A.N.G., right?" Nishan asked rhetorically.

Mia frowned, "B.A.N.G.?"

"Battle Arena: Next Generation. It's a sci-fi shooter with a King-of-the-Hill competition," he explained.

Mia quirked an eyebrow up and asked in confusion, "Huh? Tone it down on the nerd-speak, Sharma."

"The players are dropped onto a map. At the center is an abandoned alien cyborg hive on top of a mountain. The goal is to capture the hive and defend it from the other players. Whoever has control of the hive when the clock runs out wins," he elaborated further.

Mia nodded in understanding and Julian said, "I'm in. I've played Call of Duty and Battlefield. They're kinda similar to that game, right?"

"Count me in as well," Cassandra chirped.

"What about you Nishan?"

"Um... I don't know... I don't think this is a good idea..." Nishan began nervously.

Cassandra gave him a strange look and enquired, "And why not? It sounds like a solid plan..."

"Yeah? Well, you don't know Sakura," he mumbled under his breath.

Julian heard him though and narrowed his eyes at him.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Nishan looked at him and began replying only to change his mind, "I...oh, forget it..."

Cassandra cleared her throat to focus their attention on the matter at hand.

"So, what do we need to pull off this plan?" she asked.

"It's going to take a pretty spectacular setup. That game required top-of-the-line hardware to even get past the loading screen," Nishan informed her.

Cassandra smirked at this. Luckily they had what they needed.

 **Later...**

Cassandra, Wes, Julian and Nishan walked to one of the Nerd Hangouts and entered the gaming room where the found two of the gamers, Ashley and Taylor busy seated on purple beanie bags, playing Call of Duty: WW2 on the Xbox One and headphones on. The gaming PCs were free at the moment and they walked over to the table, where they were lying with other accessories like mice, gaming seats and headphones.

"Here we are," Cassandra announced. "HP Omen laptops; Intel Core i7 7700-HQ a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, 256-GB SSD and an additional 1-TB hard drive."

The others looked at her in shock as she told them the specs of the laptops offhead with an adoring look on her face. She turned to face them and saw their looks.

"What?" she asked.

"I didn't know that you were into computers, Cass," Julian told her.

She blushed heavily at the fact that she had revealed this side of herself. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"It's just a little something that I do. Nothing major," she tried to brush it off.

"Ooh, I like this new side of you, Cass. I didn't know that about you. I just thought you were a jock," Nishan told her excitedly.

Wes clapped his hands to get their attention.

"Guys, back to what we were doing?" he told them pointedly.

They sat at different points of the table and got comfortable in the seats.

"Okay, everyone. Like Nishan said, this is a King-of-the-Mountain style game... an all- out war to get to the top of the alien cyborg hive and stay there. Sakura is a pro, so she'll make her way to the top fast," Wes told them.

"Nishan, you're the boss here," Cassandra said kindly.

"Me? No... I'm no expert on this game. I haven't played since... well, not in a long time," Nishan said, doubt creeping in his voice.

"That's still more than the rest of us. And besides, we've got one big advantage. We're going to be working as a team. Everyone else in this game is only looking out for themselves," Wes told him.

"Let's do this thing!" Julian whooped.

"Right. Just remember to stick close and work together!" Wes reminded them.

They wore their headphones, booted up the laptops and opened up the game and logged in after creating new accounts with the exception of Nishan. After that process, the newcomers chose their avatars and due to time constraints, they had to make do with default avatars of their genders. Immediately, the alien home world materialized around them. Lightning split the purple sky. Twin moons were high above them, illuminating the map. In the game, Cassandra's avatar was wearing a suit of black, battle-scarred armor. A huge plasma blaster was in her hands.

"Holy shit! This looks totally awesome," Cassandra said in amazement.

"It's weirder than I was expecting... but, yeah, I could get into this," Julian's voice came in over the headphones.

"Dude, It's amazing! I mean, do you see those cyborg arms coming out of the hive?" Cassandra asked him excitedly.

"They're beckoning us to our doom, as per the cyborg queen's parting instructions to the horde when she was destroyed... er, or so the legends say," Nishan explained.

"A horde of mindless drones obeying your blood-thirsty plans for revenge... there's something intriguing there," Wes remarked.

Cassandra could feel his smirk over the headphones and the corner of her lips curled into a smile at the thought of his signature smirk. Why, she didn't know. Then, she shook her head out of her thoughts and said," Right. So about finding Sakura?"

Wes cleared his throat and spoke, "Right, right. Okay, everyone. Stay alert... Sakura's got to be at the top of the mountain already... see how fast players are getting wiped out and respawning on the map?"

His avatar gestured to a tiny map at the base of their display. On it, blue lights flicker, disappearing and then reappearing farther away from the mountain."

"When we find her, we're only going to have one chance to make our case before she tries to destroy us. She's not exactly going to believe that we're only there to talk. Nishan, you're friends with her, so that means you'll be our guy. We get you close enough, and you convince her to join us."

Nishan began stammering, "I'm not... I... I can't..."

Cassandra frowned in concern and asked, "Nishan, love, is everything okay?"

Nishan cried out, "I'm sorry. I can't do this!"

In real life, Nishan bolted from the room, leaving the others staring at him, gobsmacked. In the game, Nishan's avatar dropped his plasma rifle and stood idle.

"Well, that happened," Cassandra commented.

"Deserting your friends on the field of battle? Jerk move," Julian grumbled.

Wes remarked, "Seems that this has just gotten more difficult."

Julian's avatar walked over to where Nishan's avatar was and picked up the fallen blaster.

"Don't worry. We're still in this," Julian told him.

Just then, a plasma blast hit the rock behind them.

"Shit! Another player just found us! We're under attack!" Wes swore.

The player took another shot at them and they ducked. Cassandra reacted by flipping in the air and taking out her gun and shooting at the other player. Her shot was true and it hit the other player and he was vaporized.

Julian whistled and complimented her, "Nice shooting, Cass."

"You seem like you've got this handled... but the players are only going to get better the farther up the mountain we go. Before you go on, try to get some backup. Then see if you can make it up the next level of the hive. I've got something to take care of... I'll be back," Wes told them.

In the game, Wes' avatar ran off, leaving Cassandra and Julian looking at each other.

"What was that about?" Cassandra wondered.

Julian snorted, "I'm not surprised, Wes always has his agendas."

"Now what?" she asked.

"It's as he said, we get more players to join us. Lucky for us we have two gamers in the room who can join us.

The two looked behind them and saw Ashley and Taylor wrapping up their COD session. Cassandra called over to them and explained what they were doing. They readily agreed to join their gaming session and soon, the two gamers materialized inside the game next to Cassandra and Julian.

"Okay, we've got our new recruits taking point and guarding our right flank. Between the two of them, we should at least be able to make it up the mountain to the base of the hive," Julian told her.

Cassandra, Julian, and the gamers fought their way past other players until they finally reached the entrance to the hive. They went through narrow pathways, lit by eerie, flickering lights.

"This is it. According to this blinking map thing, the next room is the inner sanctum of the hive. That's where Sakura will be," Julian whispered.

As they went round the corner, they nearly ran into Wes. Cassandra yelped slightly in fright and raised her blaster in defense.

"There you are. I've been waiting," Wes said, unfazed at the blaster in front of him.

"Dude, what the fuck? You could have come and helped us!" Julian exclaimed.

"I was busy. I made some... 'arrangements', " Wes mysteriously said. There it was, that damn smirk again. Cassandra had to restrain herself from smiling again.

"How did you swing that?" Cassandra asked.

"I promised each player on the server that I would take out Sakura and then give up the mountain to them. It's going to be total chaos when we log out, but, hey, not our problem, right?"

Julian chuckled and remarked, "That's the most Wes sentence I've ever heard..."

"The point is, they'll stay out of our way. We just need a plan for how we're going to get inside the inner sanctum of the hive to speak with Sakura," Wes continued.

They continued with their journey and Wes left them again to look ahead at the situation with Sakura. After a few minutes he was back with a report.

"I spotted Sakura just up ahead. She's taking out everyone around her even faster than I anticipated. We're going to have to buy ourselves some talking time, or else we'll be vaporized before we even have a chance to finish a sentence," he informed them.

"Lucky for us, I've got an idea," Ashley spoke up. The others looked at her curiously. "Everyone, listen up. Wes, Taylor and I will come around the side and hide. Cassandra and Julian, go straight for a frontal assault. When you've got her damaged, we'll hit her with one of these."

Ashley held up a handful of tiny capsules.

"These will trap her in place with a jelly-like glob of goop. But they take a few seconds to activate, so you have to make sure she's distracted and that she's taken some damage. She'll need to heal, and that will buy us time."

"Affirmative," Cassandra said, indicating she'd understood.

"Signal us when it's time," Ashley reminded them.

"Get into position," Wes ordered them.

Cassandra and Julian round the corner and saw Sakura. She snapped around, spotting them immediately and shot at them. They dived to avoid getting shot.

'Damn, this girl has some reflexes,' Cassandra thought.

"Oh, how adorable. You actually thought you could surprise me," Sakura mocked.

Sakura aimed her plasma blaster straight at Cassandra. Luckily, Cassandra had some quick reaction times of her own and rolled to the side, dodging the blast.

"Good reflexes! Now's our chance!" Julian told her.

Julian took aim at Sakura, and Cassandra raised her plasma blaster and sent a plasma blast shooting towards Sakura. Sakura threw herself to the side, but the plasma blast clipped her leg.

Sakura 's avatar glared at her and growled," Oh, you will pay for that."

"Whoa! I just want to talk to you," Cassandra tried telling her.

Sakura snorted, "Yeah, right."

She glanced down at her leg and started applying a healing pack, which glowed blue.

Cassandra thought, 'Now it's time.'

Cassandra yelled, "Bloom and fall!"

Wes, Ashley and Taylor sprung out of their hiding place and threw jelly capsules at Sakura. They landed between her feet and exploded into a glob of goo that trapped her in place.

"Oh, you have got to me kidding me! Argh!" Sakura growled.

"We did it!" Julian cheered.

Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest and glared at Cassandra and Company.

"What's with the goo? And why didn't you take me out? You had the shot, I saw you," Sakura asked in curiosity.

"Like I said, we really do want to talk to you," Cassandra replied.

Sakura looked at them in turn and nodded, "All right. You've got my attention. You want to talk? Talk."

Wes began, "I know you've been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High..."

Sakura cut him off, "Whoa, buddy. This server isn't secure. You want to talk about Hearst High, do it IRL."

"We can't get onto the Hearst campus. Will you come to our school?" Cassandra requested.

"Sorry, kids. After a big win, I always spend the night celebrating," Sakura declined.

"Come celebrate with us," Cassandra invited her.

Sakura sized the group up and shook her head.

"Default avatars? No offense, but I don't think we party the same way. I'm not into spin the bottle and dancing on tables," Sakura told them.

Cassandra pressed, "We've got gamers at our school. We can throw the ultimate gamer party."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I'll drop by and check it out. But no promises. I actually want to have fun when I celebrate a win."

Julian realized something, "Wait a second. You keep talking like you've won, but the game isn't over yet. "

Sakura smirked to herself, "Isn't it? See, if you actually played this game, you'd know that Freezing Goo holds someone in place... but it also provides a shield against explosives."

The grouo spun around and noticed Sakura's plasma grenades wired all along the walls of the room.

"Holy shit!" Cassandra cursed under her breath.

"That's not good," Julian murmured.

Sakura continued, "So... if those plasma grenades were to go off... I'd be just fine. Can't say the same for all of you. Later, guys."

Sakura pressed a button, and the grenades detonated in a blinding flash of blue light. Text flashed on the screen 'GAME OVER'. Back in the real world, the group took off their headphones and stood up. Cassandra stretched and yawned.

"So, now to throw a gamer party," Cassandra said flippantly.

"Luckily, we can help with that," Taylor offered.

Cassandra nodded and texted Payton to help the gamers with organizing Party Central for the party that they were to have.

 **A few hours later...**

Cassandra, Autumn, Julian, Payton, Wes and Mia were in Party Central waiting for Sakura to arrive. Nishan conveniently enough was missing. The place had been decorated with posters and cardboard cutouts of video game characters like Nathan Drake, Commander Shepard, the cast of Overwatch, Solid Snake, Mario and Luigi, Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter Franchise and many others. Streamers of videogame logos like Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox hung around. Consoles and gaming laptops were on one end, board games in the middle and snacks on another end. Cassandra had been very particular about that.

"No snacks or drinks near the electronics," she had constantly reminded them.

The nerds and the gamers were going everything one more time, checking that the wiring was done well and that nothing would short-circuit. Just then, Sakura walked in dressed in black Nightblade outfit. She looked around and whistled and smiled, looking rather impressed at the set-up.

"A LAN setup... board games... and a next-gen console? Not a bad party, actually. At least you guys aren't sore losers," she remarked.

Cassandra walked over to her and held out a hand in greeting.

It's finally a pleasure to meet the one and only Sakura Yamagata," Cassandra greeted.

Sakura shook her hand in return and said, "Ah, the famous Cassandra Sage-Beckett. I've heard a great deal about you, some good and some bad."

The others introduced themselves to her and soon, they were mingling over video games. One thing that Cassandra realized about Sakura was that she was rather competitive. As they were playing Tekken 7, Cassandra managed to win three out of the six matches they played and Sakura would not take that lying down. The other remaining matches, Cassandra got an ass-whooping. Julian played with her Madden and he lost by a huge margin; mind you, it was his favorite game. Wes played some board games with her and lost. Payton and Mia played Call of Duty with her and despite the two working against her, they lost in the fight against her. All in all, Sakura was the ultimate gamer girl.

 **After the party...**

The gang were lying on the couch, exhausted after an evening of partying. "Nice party. I have to admit I enjoyed myself. But you didn't invite me here just to have fun. You said you wanted to talk about Hearst?" Sakura mentioned.

Wes didn't waste any time giving her the rundown of things.

"I know you've been tracking the grades of everyone at Hearst High," he told her bluntly.

"Yeah? So what?" Sakura asked warily.

Wes raised up his hand in emphasis, showing his approval.

"I get it. You wanted to figure out the system of Hearst High... how to 'play the game'. You picked out the consistent high scorers. You made sure you were always partnered with the people who got A's."

"There's nothing wrong with that," Sakura defended herself.

"Not at all. What I'm interested in is your data. You might not have realized it, but when you were tracking everyone's grades, yo were also tracking the corruption at Hearst High," he informed her.

Sakura snorted in amusement, "Oh, please. You want to go play 'Cloak and Dagger', go somewhere else. Like you said, I've got this game all figured out. Why would I help you bring down the system?"

Cassandra quipped in, "For justice?"

Sakura replied, "Morality's all relative."

Julian decided to try his hand.

"What about for Nishan? He wants us to take down Hearst. Don't you want to help him? He's your friend, right?" he asked.

Sakura stood up, anger in her eyes.

"My friend? I don't have any friends," she seethed.

Sakura turned and left. The others looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Wes cleared his throat and spoke, "Well, that was unexpected. Seems like it's time we have a talk with our favorite nerd."

Julian agreed, "Yeah. That girl was ten kinds of ready-to-kill-Nishan."

Wes narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Yeah... and I bet he knows why."

 **At the Nerd Hangout...**

Wes stormed into the Nerd Hangout, with Cassandra following closely behind. "Dude, what the fuck? You sent us in with bad intel!" Wes exclaimed.

Nishan had been doing some research with occasional glances through a microscope. He looked up and asked, "What?"

"About Sakura. You should've warned us that mentioning your name was like walking into a minefield!"

Nishan gave him a humorless smile.

"So she's till mad, huh?" he asked rhetorically.

"Oh, she's furious. Want to tell us why?" Wes asked, his arms folded over his chest.

Nishan sighed and began explaining. "When I left Hearst High to come here... I didn't exactly tell everyone that I was going. And by that I mean I didn't tell Sakura."

Cassandra gave him a confused look, "But... weren't you friends?"

"We are. Were. Kind of? You might have noticed that she's not the easiest person to talk to. It wasn't a conversation I was looking forward to, and I guess I just kept putting it off... And then suddenly she'd already found out from Kara, and that was the end of it! I tried to talk to her about it later, but she didn't want to hear it!"

"Well, this is your fault, and that means you're going to figure out how to solve it, even if you have to use every neuron in that huge brain of yours," Wes fumed.

Nishan chuckled, "Believe me, you don't want to send me in to talk to Sakura. I'm the last person she'd want to see. She's made it pretty clear that she's through with me."

"So what do we do? Sakura said she had a good thing going at Hearst High. She's not feeling very friendly towards you. We've got to come up with some other way to get through to her. How can we get on her good side?"

Nishan rubbed his neck thoughtfully, "Well... Sakura's always had a hard time in art class."

Wes nodded in understanding, "No group projects, so no way to play the system... makes sense."

"Plus, you can't really win at art. It either makes you feel something or it doesn't. I don't think she ever really got that part of it. Before I left Hearst, I think she mentioned that she was actually failing the class..." Nishan added.

Cassandra licked her lips and asked,"So we bring in an artist to help her and try to get on her good side?"

Nishan nodded. "That's probably a good place to start."

 **The Next Day...**

Cassandra entered the Artist Hangout where Autumn was hard at work on a painting of an eagle.

"Hey! Autumn. Can we get your help with something?" Cassandra called out.

Autumn stopped her painting and looked at her, paint splattered on her face and apron.

"Sure, Cass. What's up?" she asked.

"We're trying to recruit Sakura, and we think we've finally found something that she might need help with... art," Cassandra explained.

Autumn smiled and laughed lightly, "Heh. That is something I can help with. I'll just have to find the right way to reach her inner artist. Oooh, we can set up a whole art studio! Clay, paint, marble, oils... we can even put together a still-life for her to contemplate! What do you think?

Cassandra chuckled, "Sakura might not be the 'contemplating' type, but it's worth a shot!"

Cassandra and Autumn began getting all the materials that they would require for Sakura. Thirty minutes later, Sakura walked in, a scowl on her face.

"Okay, I'm here. Wes texted that you wanted to help me with my art problem. For the time being, we'll just ignore HOW you found out about my artistic shortcomings... And focus on the fact that Wes promised to solve them for me, no questions asked," Sakura grumbled.

"Yep, we just like to help people here," Cassandra quipped.

"Great policy. Really giving the Boy Scouts a run for their badges," Sakura said sarcastically. "So, where do we start?"

Autumn chirped, "Good question! I've set up a still-life with fruit and flowers over here..."

Sakura eyed the materials in front of her and rolled her eyes.

"Fruit. And flowers. Wow, I'm inspired already," Sakura muttered sarcastically.

Autumn sighed, "You're being sarcastic, aren't you?"

Sakura shrugged, "Look, I'm just saying that I think we can do a little better. Something with some more action to it."

Autumn rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I... guess I could get someone to pose for us..."

"I can do that," Cassandra volunteered.

Cassandra walked up to the platform at the center of the art room, and struck a pose.

"There, is that better?" Autumn asked.

Sakura hummed, "It would be even better with a flaming sword, slick with the blood of fallen enemies..."

"You'll just... have to use your imagination on that one. But... that could actually be a good thing... imagination is a step in the right direction."

Sakura muttered, "Sure..."

"Now, let's get to work! These paintings aren't going to paint themselves!" Autumn said excitedly.

"Um... how long is this going to take? I've got a raid in twenty minutes..." Sakura enquired.

Autumn gasped, "You can't rush art! Your inner artist is like a delicate flower. You have to give that side of yourself time to unfurl..."

Sakura interrupted her, "Look, I've got places to go, epic battles to win, and n00bs to humiliate. You expect me to stand here all day and stare at the paint?"

Autumn pleaded, "Just give it a chance. I thought you didn't want to fail your art class."

Sakura sighed and conceded. "Well, I'm not about to wreck my GPA over all this paintbrush twirling, pencil-doodling nonsense, if that's what you mean. Let's do this."

For a whole hour, Cassandra posed on that stage until Sakura was done. Another hour passed and Sakura furiously worked and painted her paintings. Four canvases and a whole lot of paint later, Sakura was done. Sakura stepped back from her paintings, wiping her forehead and looking at the canvases.

"Um, I hope they aren't terrible," she murmured.

Cassandra and Autumn walked over and looked over at the paintings.

One of the paintings depicted a figure who looked suspiciously like Nishan being hurled into a flaming abyss. Another showed the same figure trapped in quicksand... and another one had him transforming into a slug. From Cassandra's perspective, it showed raw honest emotion. The last painting was vulnerable and expressive. Why? It was an oil painting of a figure floating alone in a black hole, the darkness elegantly and richly portrayed in bold strokes.

Autumn reverently and carefully swept her hands over the painting and breathed, "Sakura, this is beautiful. You nailed it."

Sakura smirked, "Heh. This art stuff isn't all that hard. Achievement unlocked."

Sakura's phone rang with an alert and she took it out of her pocket.

"Well, thanks for the help, art girl," Sakura told Autumn.

Autumn said, "It's Autumn."

"Sure. See you around," Sakura said dismissively and began to walk out of the Hangout.

"Wait... don't you want to talk about joining our school?" Cassandra asked her as she walked out.

Sakura stopped her in her tracks and turned around.

"Um, that was never part of the deal. You just said you wanted to help. You helped. I saidthanks.

"Well, we kind of thought that you might consider transferring and helping us out with the downfall of Hearst High..." Cassandra trailed off.

Sakura asked her incredulously, "Are you crazy? Like I said, I've got a good thing going there."

"What about Nishan?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, "What about Nishan?"

Cassandra nervously asked, "Er... don't you want to go back to hanging out with him?"

"Are you kidding me? That spineless twerp left me in the middle of the school year with about a dozen half-done class projects, not to mention a long-term RPG quest that's still cluttering up my quest log. Look, thanks for all the help. I'm out of here."

Sakura waved and headed off.

Cassandra remarked, "That... seemed like it could've gone better..."

Autumn looked at the painting with a worried look, "Cassie... this painting Sakura did... We've got to show Nishan. She's clearly upset with him. I bet that's the real reason she doesn't want to transfer. If we could just get the two of them to talk..."

Cassandra nodded and called Nishan on her phone to come over to the Artist Hangout ASAP. A few minutes later, Nishan arrived at the Hangout.

"Nishan... we've got something you need to see. This painting... Sakura made it," Cassandra told him.

Nishan looked at it and grimaced.

"Uh, was the prompt 'depressing things that keep you awake at night'?" he asked with a wrinkle on his face.

Autumn frowned at him, "The prompt was to paint her feelings... and obviously she's feeling pretty depressed and alone right now."

"I don't get it. That's not like Sakura at all. She doesn't need anyone else. She's a lone wolf, prowling the night," Nishan mentioned.

Autumn quirked an eyebrow at him, "Are you sure about that? Because this painting seems to suggest otherwise. I think you should go find her. She needs to talk to someone."

Nishan sighed, "Even if you're right, I'm the last person she'd want to talk to. I tried to talk to her a couple days after I left Hearst, and she bit my head off. Literally. We were playing 'Monsters and Mayhem: Eat or Be Eaten'."

Cassandra snorted in laughter at this as much as the situation was serious. The other two ignored her and continued with their conversation.

Autumn told him gently, "I get that she might put on a tough front, but she obviously feels something about what happened between the two of you. Let's just say some of her other paintings were a little more..."

Nishan asked hopefully, "Amorous?"

Autumn replied bluntly, "Violent."

Nishan's face fell. "Right."

Autumn sighed, "Look, what I'm getting at is that you need to talk to her, okay? I think she's still somewhere on our campus. Go find her. She needs you."

Nishan nodded and walked off, hoping to find Sakura before she left. Cassandra hoped that their problems would be solved in time for them to organize themselves for the Heist.

 **A few hours later...**

Cassandra was pacing up and down outside the Nerd Hangout where she had decided to wait for Nishan and Sakura to finish up their conversation and all. She didn't have to wait long though. The door opened and Nishan and Sakura walked out of the Hangout hand in hand, all smiles.

Cassandra smiled, "That seems like a good sign."

"Yup," Sakura said, popping the 'p' in the process.

"That's not all, she will be joining the school," Nishan revealed.

Cassandra lifted her hands in joy and she cheered, "Oh, yes!"

"I'll email all the data to Wes while I enroll," Sakura told her.

Sakura, accompanied by Nishan went over to the admissions office to get her enrolled. Cassandra took out her phone and called Wes.

"Good news, we have Sakura on our side," she informed him.

"Excellent. I'll gather everyone at the Prep Hangout," he said with a satisfied tone.

 **At the Prep Hangout...**

The gang now comprised of Cassandra, Autumn, Julian, Nishan, Wes, Payton, Mia and Sakura. All of them were gathered at the Prep Hangout and they were seated at the table.

"Welcome to the school, Sakura," Wes congratulated her.

Sakura smiled, "You know, I actually might like it here. At least helping you take down Hearst will be fun. Rebel against the oppressive regime, liberate the people... I'm no do-gooder, but it IS run fighting the evil empire. Especially if you win. Just like playing Resistance Rebels, am I right?"

Cassandra smirked, "Hell yeah!"

Julian asked Wes, "Did you take a look at the records?"

Wes replied with a scowl, "Yeah... and the corruption's even worse than I thought."

Cassandra asked, "Really? How?"

Wes took out a print out from his pocket and unfolded it and placed it on the table.

"You see this chart? This tracks donations from the wealthiest families at Hearst. And this tracks the grades of those students. Every time someone gets a low grade, suddenly there's a big donation, and then just as suddenly the grade is changed," he explained.

Autumn gasped, "That's terrible! They're buying grades?

Julian scowled, "No big surprise there. The Hearst Coach benched me so the principal's son could be the star. The faculty at Hearst have never played by the rules."

Mia grimaced and shook her head, "It was a little suspicious that we had a hot tub in the gym... I guess that money had to come from somewhere."

"And the worst part? It's wrecking the curve for everyone else. After all the rich kids take up all the A's, everyone else has to fight over B's and C's," Wes added.

Payton stammered, "But... that's so sad. It's just...wrong." Payton turned to face Sakura. "Sakura, you knew about this?"

"Hey, I was just figuring out the top people to partner with. I didn't exactly spend hours studying the results. I've got raids every afternoon, and I've been marathoning 'The Last of Us' in Survivor mode at night," Sakura defended herself.

Wes cleared his throat to focus their attention back on him.

"Anyway, I've been studying the patterns here... There's usually a one-day delay. Except in this case. Right here, on October 10th of last year... Mr. Georgette took three whole days to change the grade."

Cassandra inquired, "So what does that mean? Who's this Mr. Georgette guy?"

"He's a history teacher at Hearst. Big on honesty and doing the right thing," Wes explained. "My guess? The guy fought back. And if he did, that means there's a chance there's a record of his protest. Lucky for him, we're just the people to take that information and bring it into the spotlight,"

Mia asked, "Wait. Aren't we going to need supplies for this caper?"

Wes affirmed, "That's right. Nishan?"

"Just standard, totally routine things... walkie talkies, maps, masks... Infrared goggles, grappling hooks, tiny robot spiders with lazer-beam eyes..." Nishan said.

Cassandra remarked sarcastically, "Right... Standard."

Nishan frowned and asked, "Look, do you want to caper this caper or not?"

Mia asked, "What about hacking into the computer?"

"I can create a search algorithm that will comb through all of his emails and files. It'll even retrieve any docs he's deleted. If there's any way to find and recover those records, we'll get them," Nishan said.

"But like I said... we can only do this from inside Hearst High... it's the only way to get access to their closed computer system. And you know what that means..." Wes suggested

"We're going in," Cassandra said, her tone of voice dripping with determination.

 **Author's note:**

 _Another chapter is up! Yay! They manage to recruit Sakura and figure a few things about her. Cassandra is a secret computer geek. Nya! Shocker! So, next chapter, they will be breaking into Hearst High and boy, are they in for adventure. So, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. Reviews and ideas are always welcome. Bye bye! Canary out! :)_


	14. Fall Of An Empire - Part One

**McKay13: I actually thought of making Cassandra and Julian a couple but it didn't fit the direction I wanted for this story. I decided to make them best friends. I saw that Cass and Julian like each other but Julian likes Autumn more. Cass can see that and she respects that.**

 ** _Inside Mr. Georgette's Classroom..._**

Cassandra, Sakura and Nishan were all crouched down under Mr. Georgette's desk, frightened as they heard footsteps coming closer to the classroom. If the cops found them in that classroom, they were dead meat. They could be arrested for breaking and entering, hacking, theft and who knows how many other felonies!

Cassandra's breath grew heavier and heavier the closer those footsteps grew.

"Oh God, oh God..." she breathed.

"Oh Maker, oh Maker..." Nishan whispered, his form trembling in fright.

"Nishan, we are not in Thedas! The both of you, hush! Pull yourselves together!" Sakura hissed.

This was so not planned for. How did all come down to this?

 ** _A week earlier..._**

 ** _At the Prep Hangout..._**

The group was gathered making their preparations for the break in to Hearst High. Cassandra was still curious about what Wes's play was; she knew he had needed to make nice with everyone and why he had needed Sakura to join Avalon. But there were still a few gaps here and there. For instance, how were they to enter Hearst?

Cassandra spoke up, "Alright, Wes. I'm curious. So... how exactly do we get into Hearst High to prove their web of corruption? We can't just stroll on in anymore, not without Hearst IDs."

Mia snorted at this, "Oh, you'll need more than that. Max will not shut up about how incredibly tough their new security system is. In addition to student IDs, they've also got reinforced locks on all the doors and a crack team of security guards working around the clock!"

Cassandra remarked, "Someone's paranoid."

"Amen to that. Preach," Mia agreed.

"Wait, what? They can afford that but didn't have the budget for my physics club?" Nishan asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"Well, you did ask for a particle accelerator. Just saying" Sakura pointed out.

"How else am I going to accelerate my particles?"

Wes whistled to get them to concentrate.

"Team, focus. I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

Everyone looked up at him expectantly.

"First step... We'll need to get our hands on Hearst IDs," he began. "And before you say Photoshop, you have to know that these are the types of IDs that can't be faked. We need to get the real thing."

He said this as he looked at Autumn, who had her mouth open, most likely about to suggest that they create fake IDs.

"Then how do we get them?" Julian asked expectantly.

"Kara and her squad are going for a cheerleader retreat this weekend. That's where we'll swipe them," Wes told him.

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that?" Cassandra asked, eyebrow quirked.

"Duh! No pockets on cheerleader uniforms. They'll need to leave them in their bags as they do the drills," Mia piped in.

"You read my mind, Princess," Wes smirked.

"But how will we get admission for the retreat?" Mia posed.

"Luckily, you're all set for that. I took the liberty of filling in the forms for the retreat and having the student council give the funding for it," Wes said in a self-satisfied tone as he took out the forms out of a folder in his hands and passing them to Mia, who read it.

"Damn, Deveaux. How did you manage this?" Mia asked in amazement.

"My amazing charm and wit," Wes replied.

"Ain't that the truth," Cassandra murmured.

Wes caught what she said and gave her a roguish wink. Cassandra's face turned red and she licked her lips as she looked down at her feet. Wes cleared his throat and continued, "Phase two of this plan will require, swiping a key to enter a classroom at Hearst."

"Where on earth will we get that?" Nishan wondered.

"I happen to know Max has one on his keychain. His dad let him have it so he could work out in the gym after hours," Wes replied. "The trick will be getting near him. All I know is that he hangs out with his crew at McGraw's Grill everyday after school."

"Well, you could get an actor to pose as a waiter to get close to him," Autumn suggested.

Wes pondered this for a moment and nodded.

"God thinking, Autumn. But first things first; getting those IDs," he told them. "Mia and the cheerleaders will do that for us."

"My pleasure," Mia said with a smirk.

 _(Time skip)_

Mia, Bella, Harvey, Zander, Janelle and Miley went to the cheer retreat over the weekend as scheduled. They were at the door of the room where Kara and her squad were doing their routines. They peeped in and saw Kara leading them through a particularly difficult routine. Mia huddled the group in and whispered, "Alright. Listen up. We have to move in, fast. If Kara and her squad see us, we're screwed."

Bella murmured, "Right. No pressure or anything."

They took one last peep and saw Kara berating one of her cheerleaders.

"Valerie! You call that a handspring?! That was sloppier than your makeup at Homecoming. No wonder Jerome cheated on you with that girl from Athena Academy. I bet she didn't flop around like a beached whale!"

"Damn!" Harvey winced at the last part.

"This girl has no chills!" Janelle added.

"Someone needs to chill. And I'm not talking about Netflix and chill. I mean actual chill," Zander noted.

"Is it me or is Kara getting bitchier?" Bella asked, looking at Mia.

For a moment, fright crossed Mia's face.

"Mia?" Bella asks in concern.

Mia looks at her and steels herself with a deep breath.

"Nah. She was always a bitch and will remain that way," she replies. "Now look! Their bags are lying against the wall at the other end of the room."

"How are we supposed to get to them without being seen?" Miley asked worriedly.

"By moving with cat-like grace and finesse," Mia replied. "Now pay attention."

They waited for the right moment. That moment came when Kara's team began assembling into a pyramid.

"Now!" Mia barked.

The cheerleaders moved nimbly across the floor, making sure to stay hidden from Kara's angry glare. They got right up to the bags, just as one of Kara's cheerleaders hit the ground with a crash, distracting Kara. That opportune crash granted them the time they needed to unzip the bags and swipe the IDs and run outside. Once outside, the group cheered and high-fived each other at the successful mission.

"Good work, everyone," Mia commended them.

 _(Time skip)_

On Monday, the group met at the Prep Hangout and were waiting on Mia in anticipation. The moment she arrived, all eyes were on her.

"Well, Princess. Did you get them?" Wes asked expectantly.

Mia gave them a blank look for a moment. She then unzipped her purse and pulled them out with a smile. The others cheered and clapped.

"Excellent work, Mia!" Wes congratulated her warmly as she handed him the IDs.

She took a bow and sat down. "All we need now is to mod them a bit and we'll be ready. Luckily for us, the other Slackers and Nerds are experts in this field."

"All that's left is getting that key," Julian said happily.

"Oh, yeah. Jason and I have a plan for that," Wes told them.

 ** _After school..._**

At McGraw's Grill, Jason was dressed up as a waiter and was as nervous as could be. He took a deep breath and began to walk over to Max's table, where he was laughing with his crew.

Jason gave them a million dollar smile and he greeted Max, "Hey there, my friend. Can I take your order?"

"Uh, first of all, we're not friends. It's Max Warren," he said as the others laughed stupidly and fist-bumped him.

Jason swallowed a few choice insults that he had and forced a smile.

"Correction noted. Anyway, what can I get you?" he asked.

"See, it's funny. I thought that the nice thing about being a regular at a restaurant is that you don't have to order. They just know what you want. So why don't you go back there and tell Mr. McGraw you're doing a terrible job serving his number one customer? See what he has to say about that."

Jason chewed his lip and said, "Okay. I'll just... do that. But first, may I recommend the soup?"

Jason grabbed a bowl of soup off the serving counter, spun around, and 'accidentally' dumped it all over Max. Max gasped in shock and looked down at the mess on his lap.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, man?" Max spat.

Jason had to admit, it felt good spilling soup all over him and wouldn't have apologized for it. But he had to stick to the script.

"Oh God! I'm sorry. That was a total accident!" He apologized.

Max lunged up and Jason tried to grab his key chain but Max was past him before he could get it. Max stormed to the bathroom and a busboy tried to clean him off but Max pushed him out of the way.

"Shit!" Jason swore under his breath. He walked out through the back in disappointment. "So close."

"Actually, I think you did just fine," a voice said from behind him.

Jason turned around and saw Wes holding up a key chain, a smirk on his face.

"First rule of the game; always have a backup plan," he told Jason.

Wes took out his phone and shot off a text to the others, 'Mission accomplished. Let's meet at the Prep Hangout.'

 ** _At the Prep Hangout..._**

Wes walked in and found Julian and Autumn talking, Sakura and Nishan playing a board game, Payton and Mia using their phones and Cassandra was seated by the window, gazing outside. The moment they noticed his presence, they stopped doing their respective activities and walked up to him. He cleared his throat and began talking, "Okay, everyone. It all comes up to this. I'm not going to lie to you. What comes next is risky... dangerous... uncertain. If you join me and this heist goes wrong, you might get in trouble. Serious trouble. I can't promise you'll come out of this okay." He looked at their faces, which glowed with determination. That determination gave him strength. He continued, "But what I can promise is that if this heist goes right, if we take Hearst down, then everything changes. Since our school has existed, Hearst has been trying to destroy it. That'll all end. No more pranks. No more sabotage. And for the students still there, the ones who can't leave, no more being victims of corruption. So I ask you, right now, are you in?"

They cheered and whooped in response.

"Count me in!" Cassandra cried out.

"Me too!" Julian agreed.

"Me three!" Autumn chimed in.

"I'm in!" Nishan said.

"So am I!" Sakura added.

Payton and Mia cheered on.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Wes grinned. "Let's do this."

Nishan cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

"So what exactly are we doing? There is still something missing here," Nishan pointed out.

Everyone but Wes groaned at him.

"Way to ruin the moment, Sharma," Julian grumbled.

Wes laughed and replied, "Actually, that's a pretty solid question. Mr. Georgette, the history teacher at Hearst High, has proof of the corruption on his computer. To get it, we'll need to break into three teams. The first is Team Eagle-Eye. That's me and Mia. We'll keep track of everything from my van."

Mia nodded in eagerness. Wes continued, "...the next group is Team Strikeforce. They're going to physically break into Hearst High and get to the computer lab. Team Srikeforce is Nishan, Sakura, and Cassie."

"Excellent!" Cassandra beamed.

"The third team will be Team Pom-Poms. That'll be Payton, Autumn and Julian. They'll be accompanied by Kimberly and Jason."

"Heh. Pom-Poms," Julian snickered. He didn't register that he was part of the team until a few seconds passed. "Wait, what?!"

 ** _At Night..._**

Wes and Mia were seated in his van, surrounded by dozens of monitors showing live feeds from cameras all over Hearst High. Wes talked into a walkie-talkie, "All right, it's go-time. Team Pom-Poms, you're up first. Your mission is to impersonate the Hearst cheerleading team and distract the security guards. Roll out!"

Just outside the Hearst campus, Payton, Autumn, Kimberly, Jason and Julian drove towards the gate in a black Toyota Noah.

Julian complained, "I still don't get why I have to be on this team. I'm a man of action not some flippy, kicky..."

Payton interrupted him in frustration, "Oh my God, Julian! How many times do I have to tell you? Two of the IDs belonged to boys! And no one would buy Nishan as a cheerleader!"

Julian sighed, "Yeah, I guess, but this still seems weird. Are you down with this, Autumn?"

Autumn shook her pom-poms in excitement. "Oh, I think it's kind of fun! We get to pretend that we're all perky and cheerful and spirited!"

Julian snorted, "We must have incredibly different definitions of fun."

Payton sighed, "Look, Wes is basically a wizard. If he thinks you've got to pretend to be a cheerleader, you should probably do it."

Julian conceded but grumbled, "This had better work!"

Wes's voice crackled over the walkie - talkie which had been placed on the dashboard.

"Okay, Team Pom-Poms, you're almost at the Interception Point. Get into character now!"

They drove up to the Hearst campus and a pair of security guards approached them. Payton rolled down the window.

"Hi there, guys! We just got back from this cheer retreat, and we're soooo tired! Could you help us with our bags? We've got, oh, three dozen," she requested.

One of the guards gruffly said, "Identification, please."

Payton flashed him a confident, radiant smile as she gave him her ID. The guard took a look at it and nodded as he gave it back to her. The guard looked at Autumn and gestured for her ID. Autumn perked up and chirped, "My ID? Of course! I'd love to show you my ID! I love showing all IDs! Give me an I, give me a D, what's that spell? ID! Identification!"

Payton groaned and rolled her eyes, "Scale it back sweetie, you're freaking 'em out!"

Autumn turned red in mortification and timidly said, "I mean, um, here's my ID, sir."

The guard turned to Kimberly and Jason who were 'busy' on their phones and handed their IDs to him without a glance in his direction.

"Like, OMG! Kim Kardashian's spring look is so on point," Kimberly remarked.

"Tell me about it. She is so pulling it off with that gorgeous bod. Hashtag, body goals," Jason agreed as they high-fived each other.

The guard handed back their IDs and looked expectantly at Julian.

"Uh, yeah. Here's my ID," he said in a disinterested tone.

The guard gave him a skeptical look. Julian sighed and began cheering excitedly, "Here's my ID, sir! I sure am a cheerleader! I love yelling and flipping and, uh, more yelling! Woo woo, go Hearst High, let's beat the team and make 'em cry! We gotta win cuz we're so great! The other team can't get a date! What a bunch of stupid losers! They suck! Woo!"

The others gawked at Julian while the guard considered this. He finally waved them through. As they drove into the campus, Payton and Autumn whispered intensely.

"Like, OMG! Julian, that was freaking awesome!" Payton squealed.

"Are you trying out for the cheerleading team? Please, try out! You'd be amazing!" Autumn said excitedly.

"If any of you tell a soul about this, you're dead! You hear me? Dead!" He hissed.

Once they were on campus, they parked the car and the guards followed them to help unload their bags. Mia and Wes watched the progress from the van.

"Looks like the pigs have swallowed up the cheesecake," Wes remarked.

"Were you always this weird, Deveaux?" Mia asked.

Wes ignored her quip and talked into his walkie-talkie, "Team Strike-Force. Get ready to move in!"

Hiding in the shadows of the Hearst Campus were Cassandra, Sakura and Nishan. They were dressed in black hoodies, black boots, and yoga pants with the exception of Nishan who wore black ripped jeans. They waited for the guards to round the corner and once the coast was clear, they raced across the parking lot towards the classrooms. Ahead of Cassandra was a puddle of water and she leaped over it effortlessly. They reached the academic building just as the guards helped Team Pom-Poms unload their bags. They opened the door and ran in.

They let out a sigh of relief once they were inside.

"We made it!" Nishan exclaimed.

"Pipe down, Nish. Don't count your points 'til you've beat the level. We still need to get into Mr. Georgette's classroom," Sakura told him.

"Right, anyone know where that is?" Cassandra asked.

They looked around and began walking down the hallway, looking at the doors one by one until Sakura said, "Yes! Here we are. 'Mr. Georgette, 10th grade history.'"

"Nice work, Sakura. You have amazing eyes!" Nishan complimented her.

"Tell me something I don't know," Sakura told him warmly.

"Uh, guys? Let's stay on task," Cassandra told them

"Right! Sorry about that," Sakura said with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Using Max's key, the trio unlocked the door and rushed inside. Back in Wes's van, he and Mia kept watching the feed from the cameras.

"Yes! The weasels are in the hen house!" Wes exclaimed, happy that his plan so far was working.

Wes took a look at another monitor and remarked, "Well, it looks like the security guards are still helping Team Pom-Poms with their bags, so we're doing okay."

Mia took a look at the same monitor and she narrowed her eyes at something she saw.

"Huh... then what's that movement? There, in the shadows?" Mia asked.

Wes looked at where she pointed and he narrowed his own eyes.

"Is that..." he zoomed in on the feed and his eyes widened in shock. "We need to get in touch with Team Strikeforce...now!"

 ** _Meanwhile..._**

Cassandra, Nishan, and Sakura huddled up in Mr. Georgette's classroom. The walkie-talkie crackled with static. Cassandra took it out of the waistband of her yoga pants and she tried fiddling with it to make the transmission clear.

"Hmmm... Seems like Wes is trying to tell us something but I can't make it out," Cassandra said with a frown on her face.

"Let's focus on getting the proof, Cassie," Sakura told her.

Nishan rushed to the computer and booted it up. A password screen popped up and he swore, "Damn!"

"I don't like the sound of that," Cassandra muttered.

"It looks like Hearst upgraded their security since I was here. It's got three more layers of encryption," Nishan explained.

"You can still hack it though, right?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah...give or take eight hours," Nishan replied.

Cassandra's eyes widened at this. Eight hours?!

"Are you serious? We don't have that kind of time!" Cassandra exclaimed.

"The security guards will find us if we don't hurry it up," Sakura added.

"Well, it would help if I had assistance of some kind... a hint as to what Mr. Georgette's password might be," Nishan suggested.

Cassandra nodded.

"Spread out. Look for anything that may help out," she instructed them.

"A Hidden Object game? I like it," Sakura smirked.

They searched the classroom and five minutes later, they had a a teacher's log, a framed photo of a supermodel and a scrunched up piece of paper Sakura found in the trashcan.

"Alright then. Let's begin with the log," Cassandra murmured. "Hmm, let's see here... 'Kara Sinclair... one of the worst students I've ever had. Constantly late, disrespectful, and distracted. Also, she called me 'baldie', which was downright hurtful.'"

"Ooh! Ooh! Find me!" Sakura said excitedly.

Cassandra complied and read out, "'Sakura Yamagata... bright but odd. Seems mostly focused on getting the best grades for the least work. Also, oddly fixated on the 'killcount' of every historical warrior.'"

"That's important to know," Sakura defended herself.

"Guys, focus," Nishan told them pointedly.

"Nothing in here that could be the password," Cassandra said.

They went to the photo which showed a gorgeous woman in a slinky red dress. Cassandra took it out of the frame and turned it over. There was a message written in cursive calligraphy.

"'To my loving, wonderful husband, thanks for such an amazing anniversary! Going back to the research lab where we first met was so romantic! Love, Krystal!'" she read out loud.

Cassandra turned the photo over and looked again at the lady.

"Hot damn! She looks good!" Cassandra commented.

"Wow, I gotta give credit where it's due. Mr. Georgette did really well for himself," Sakura complimented.

"Mental note: consider becoming a history teacher," Nishan said to himself.

Cassandra put the photo back in its frame. She took the crumpled up paper and read out the message on it, "Buy at store: Break, milk, underwear (six pairs), foot ointment, romantic candles...'"

"Yeah, I feel like I know more about Mr. Georgette than I wanted to," Sakura whispered.

Cassandra snapped her fingers and instructed Nishan, "Try 'Krystal' as the password."

Nishan typed it in and the start screen popped up.

"Bingo! Good job, Cassie!" he told her.

Nishan opened up his emails and he perused through them.

"Hmm. I've got an email log between Mr. Georgette and Principal Warren... It looks like Kara blew off all her homework and got an F on every test, but Principal Warren demanded she be given a B! When Mr. Georgette refused, Principal Warren threatened to fire him!" he informed them.

"Sounds like all the evidence we need," Cassandra stated.

"Mission accomplished!" Sakura beamed.

Nishan copied the emails into a flash drive and said, "Now let's..."

He was interrupted by a blast of noise from the walkie-talkie.

"Team Strikeforce! Get out of there now!" Wes ordered them.

Cassandra was confused and asked, "What? Why?"

"The cops are surrounding the school! You guys must have tripped an alarm or something! I'm not talking school security, either. I'm talking city police!"

Just then, sirens blared from outside, and red-and-blue lights shone through the windows. They heard footsteps outside in the hallway and Nishan gasped, "Oh no!"

"Quick! Under the desk!" Sakura whispered.

They dove under Mr. Georgette's mahogany desk which was spacious enough to accommodate all three of them. They sat there quietly, listening to the footsteps coming closer and closer towards their classroom.

To be continued...

 **Author's note:**

 _Hey hey hey! I'm back with another update! Thankfully I'm on my Christmas holidays so I have some time before I reopen school. I had tons of fun writing this and now, I'm left with Part 2. Nya!! :) Kindly read and review! As always, ideas are welcome. I also apologize for any grammatical mistakes made as well as any typos made. See you next update! Canary out! :)_


	15. Fall Of An Empire - Part Two

**StanfordBound2020: I liked including the other characters in the story. After all, Cass and the gang aren't the only students at Avalon. Everyone has a stake in whatever goes on in the school. I wanted it to feel more alive. :) And for the thing between Wes and Cass, stay tuned for more. ;)**

 ** _Last time on Avalon High..._**

"Team Strikeforce! Get out of there now!" Wes ordered them.

Cassandra was confused and asked, "What? Why?"

"The cops are surrounding the school! You guys must have tripped an alarm or something! I'm not talking school security, either. I'm talking city police!"

Just then, sirens blared from outside, and red-and-blue lights shone through the windows. They heard footsteps outside in the hallway and Nishan gasped, "Oh no!"

"Quick! Under the desk!" Sakura whispered.

 ** _This time..._**

Mia and Wes sat in the van, watching through monitors as a group of police officers surrounded Hearst High. Mia was freaking out as they saw the scene unfold right before their eyes.

"What do we do? Oh God, they're going to go to jail, aren't they? Oh God! Oh God!" Mia said, her voice rising.

Wes put a hand on her shoulder and told her in a calm voice, "Chill, relax. This is the type of situation where I work best, Princess."

Mia took a deep breath and breathed out. She took a look at the monitors behind Wes and observed the situation.

"Okay, Team Pom-Poms is hiding in their car behind the school, dressed as cheerleaders. They can't leave while the cops are outside. And Team Strikeforce is still in Mr. Georgette's classroom," Mia informed him.

Wes digested this information, chewing on his lower lip and rapping his fingers on his thigh, then he snapped his fingers.

"Okay, I know how to get them out of there. First we'll need a police scanner. Unfortunately, I don't own one..." Wes began.

Mia interrupted, "Ugh! I wish Nishan were here. He has a whole cache of gizmos."

Wes smirked, "You didn't let me finish. We can however, improvise a little bit."

Wes went to the glove box of the van and rummaged through it. He came back with a screwdriver and a pair of pliers. He disassembled his walkie-talkie and fiddled around with the wires for a while. He put it back together and began tuning it to the police scanner frequency. He heard static for a moment and then some chatter.

"'Listen up, son. We're out here because your dad and I go way back. If the Chief finds out we're wasting our time refereeing some high school prank war, I'm in a whole stew of trouble," a gruff sounding voice stated.

Mia looked at Wes, clearly impressed, "Deveaux, you continue to amaze me," she told him with a smile on her face.

Wes gave her a two-finger salute as they continued to listen to the cop's conversation.

"I'm telling you, Officer! They stole my key, and they're using it to get into the school! Now get in there and find them!" a deep voice responded insistently.

There was only one person who had that particular voice. Mia and Wes looked at each other with a knowing look.

"Max," They said at the same time.

They looked back down at the radio and continued listening to them speak.

"Yeah, yeah. We're going in. You at least coming with us?" The cop asked.

"I'm on my way. I'll be at the school as fast as I can!" Max replied.

"Fine, kid, whatever you say,"The officer said as he hung up on Max. "All officers, inside, now!"

Wes looked at Mia and he smirked.

"You hear that? The cops are going inside... " he told her.

"Which means that Team Pom-Poms has a chance to escape," Mia finished up his train of thought.

"Exactly!"

Wes tuned in to the team frequency and talked into his walkie-talkie, "Team Pom-Poms, this is your chance to escape!"

Across the campus, Payton, Julian, Autumn, Jason and Kimberly sat up the moment Wes radioed in.

"You don't need to tell me twice, sweetie," Payton responded.

She put the car into drive and sped off the campus. Wes and Mia watched their progress and whooped the moment they were off.

"Yes! They're out!" Mia cheered. "One down, one to go!"

"We'll stick around incase Team Strikeforce needs a ride," Julian told them.

"Let's check in on them," Mia said.

 **Cassandra's P.O.V.**

 **In Mr. Georgette's classroom...**

Sakura, Nishan and I had been huddled under this desk for God knows how long. Long story short, we were not doing okay. This was not planned for. We could hear footsteps outside and at any moment, the cops could decide to check the classrooms. We were as silent as mice with only our heavy breathing to break the silence.

All of a sudden, the walkie-talkie crackled with static and Wes's voice came through, "Hey Cass. You there?"

I took the walkie-talkie out of the waistband of my pants and responded, "Yo, Wes. I'm here."

"You guys doing okay?" he inquired.

I snorted. What the hell kind of question was that? What did he think?

"Yeah, let's just say we're doing fine," I responded sarcastically.

Wes chuckled, "Yeah. Dumb question."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Hey, Cassie?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, Wes?"

"I need you to trust me. Don't worry. I'll get you guys out of there," he told me gently.

I licked my lips and chewed on my lower lip slightly. I could trust him, couldn't I? I could close my eyes, fall back and I could trust that he would catch me, maybe even wrap his arms around me and embrace me, right? Now that was an enticing thought. My lips quirked up in a smile until Wes's voice interrupted my train of thought, "Cassie?"

I shook my head and answered, "Wes, I trust you implicitly."

"Good."

 **Third Person P.O.V**

Wes turned off the walkie-talkie and tuned in to the police scanner and began listening in on the cop's conversation with Max.

"Warren, I don't see anyone in here," The cop informed Max.

"They might be hiding in a classroom. Search 'em, Jenkins, " Max ordered him.

The cop whom Max called Jenkins groaned in frustration, "Seriously, kid? Only because it's a slow night. If anything else comes up, we are out of here."

Wes tuned out and looked at Mia. Mia asked him, "Now what do we do?"

Wes gave her his classic smirk and answered, "Now we wreak havoc. And I just know the right people for the job."

Wes took out his phone and began making some calls.

 **At Jordan's home...**

Jordan was sitting on his couch with a bowl of potato chips in his lap when his phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Yo, wassup bruh?" he greeted.

"Hey, Jordan. I need a favour," Wes informed him, not wasting too much time on pleasantries.

"Really? Right now? Coz' I was kinda in the middle of something..." Jordan said, his reluctance oozing into his tone of voice.

"Were you?" Mia snarked.

"Wait. Whoa. Did you put me on speaker?" Jordan asked. "Not cool bruh."

"That's besides the point," Wes said, sounding a bit irritated. "I know you like hanging out where you're not allowed to. How do you feel about chilling in that old, abandoned warehouse just outside of town?"

"Seriously? I'm in," Jordan agreed.

"Excellent. Grab Mary while you're at it and have yourselves a good time," Wes added as he hung up.

 **At Storm Shadow Skate Park...**

Omeesha was at the skatepark, skateboard in hand, watching her partner Lamar doing a bunch of skateboard tricks. The skater crowd that was gathered cheered him on. A call came through her Bluetooth earpiece and she tapped on the side to answer.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Omeesha, it's Wes. I need a favour," Wed told her abruptly.

"I'm kinda..." she began but Wes interrupted her.

"I know you were in the middle of something but trust me you'll like it."

"I'm listening," she told him.

"I know you're probably with Lamar, so I'm going to ask this; how do the both of you feel about skating in places that you're not supposed to be skating in?" Wes asked.

Omeesha beamed at the thought of that rush that one got from doing the forbidden. She answered, "Say no more. We're in."

"Good," Wes said in satisfaction as he hung up.

Omeesha whistled to Lamar and he skated towards her and tilted his skateboard and he caught it in mid-air.

" 'Sup?" he asked her.

Omeesha gave him a grin.

"We just got ourselves the best assignment ever."

 **A little while later...**

 **Back at the van...**

Wes called Jordan and Omeesha to see if they had done as they had been requested. He first called Jordan...

"Yo Jordan, how is it going over there?" he asked.

"Wes, my man. Well, the good news is, I'm hanging out with Mary over in the abandoned warehouse, just listening to music and eating Taco Bell... Bad news is, I think some people driving by might've seen us and called the cops," Jordan informed him.

Wes snickered, "Believe me, that's some good news. Excellent work. Now you'd better run."

He then called Omeesha and was greeted with whooping and laughter and the rolling of skateboards...

"I take it that things are going well?" Wes asked with a smirk.

"Fantastic!" Omeesha yelled. "Grinding on guard rails and tail-stopping off tail-pipes!"

"Has anyone seen you guys?" Wes inquired.

"Duh! Half the neighborhood and I'm guessing from the disapproving looks we got and cellphones in their hands, they've been calling the cops with a load of complaints," Omeesha replied.

"Perfect. Now you'd better scram before the cops catch you."

"You got it, boss."

After he hung up, Wes tuned on to the police frequency and he heard Officer Jenkins grumbling, "Listen, Warren, I've got reports coming in from all over town; skaters, slackers, who knows what. I'm sending half my boys to check it out."

Max growled in anger, "Argh! Fine! But keep searching the school with the rest!"

Wes switched the walkie-talkie off and spoke, "Seems we need to wreak more havoc."

Mia smirked and patted Wes's shoulder, "Oh, leave that to me."

Mia took out her phone and called Bella, "Hey. I need you to pump up the music at that house party you at. And while you're at it, get a couple of people in a car and have them drive around the town."

 **A few minutes later...**

Wes flicked on the walkie-talkie just as Officer Jenkins was talking, "Look, son, this is over. I'm getting reports of some major parties going on across town. We gotta go deal with them."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Max asked incredulously.

"Language!" Officer Jenkins scolded.

"If you want to send all your men out, fine, be my guest. But I expect you to stay and keep searching, or my dad will hold you responsible!" Max told him.

"Ugh. After this, he owes me one heckuva nice Christmas gift..." Officer Jenkins groaned.

Wes called Cassandra on the walkie-talkie, "Hey Cassie? It's down to one cop. This is as good as it's going to get. The three of you need to make a break for it."

 **In Mr. Georgette's classroom...**

Cassandra, Nishan and Sakura were still under the desk. They could hear Officer Jenkins pacing outside.

"How the hell are we supposed to make a run for it? The officer is just outside," Cassandra questioned.

"I wish we had a cardboard box to use as a disguise," Sakura sighed.

"Sure. Coz this is Metal Gear Solid and we're Solid Snake," Cassandra snorted.

"Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?" Sakura defended herself.

"Of all the days to leave my optic camo at home..." Nishan murmured.

Suddenly, Sakura had an idea. She gasped and snapped her fingers.

"Wait, if the cop is in the hallway, it means we can go above him, right?" Sakura suggested. "It means there is an air vent around here."

Sakura got out from their hiding place and she looked around and said, "Aha!"

The remaining duo followed her lead and followed her gaze up to the air vent above the door. Cassandra's eyes widened and she whispered in fright, "Oh, no!"

Sakura cheered, "Oh yes!"

Cassandra looked at Sakura and asked, "Do we have to?"

"It's either that or spending the night in jail. I doubt it's as glamorous as it looks in the Fate of the Furious," Sakura snarked.

Cassandra sighed but she conceded. Cassandra and Nishan shoved a desk against the wall quietly. Sakura went first, climbing onto it and unscrewed the cover of the vent with an arcade token she pulled out of the pocket of her hoodie.

"Should I be surprised that you carry that with you?" Cassandra questioned rhetorically.

"Hardly. If video games have taught me anything is that you should always have a contingency plan with you," Sakura replied.

"Coolest. Girl. Ever," Nishan said, admiration and adoration of Sakura evident in his voice.

Sakura pried the cover off and hoisted herself in. Nishan followed her.

"Just switch schools, they said. It'll be fun, they said. You won't have to do anything crazy, like escape through air vents, they said," Nishan muttered under his breath.

"I never actually said anything like that, Nishan," Cassandra pointed out.

Nishan climbed in and Cassandra was the only person left. Her heart was beating furiously and her palms felt sweaty. She had never really liked confined spaces.

'Be still, my heart. Be still. Oh God, I'm freaking out. I'm freaking out right now,' she thought.

She breathed in and out. Push had come to shove and it was either climb through the vent or take her chances with Officer Jenkins. The former would be better. She followed Nishan through the vent, albeit reluctantly. Cassandra's breath got heavier as she felt the walls closing in on her. She felt dizzy but she forced herself to focus.

"Wow. This is way much tighter than how vents are in the movies," Nishan whispered.

Sakura gestured for him to shush and pointed down through the grate. Officer Jenkins was patrolling below them. She mouthed, 'We have to move very quietly.'

They nodded in response. Sakura led them through the air vent. Cassandra pulled herself through quietly and gingerly. She began singing songs in her head to keep her mind off the area she was in. They pushed through the vents for what felt like forever until they got to the end. Cassandra felt herself bump into Nishan which brought her back down to earth. Sakura unscrewed the vent and the trio tumbled out onto the ground outside the school.

The moment Cassandra was on terra firma, she knelt down and kissed the ground in thanks. She could not have been thankful enough that she was out of that death trap. She stood up and the others looked at her strangely.

"What?" she asked. "I don't like tight spaces."

"Um... Sure thing," Sakura murmured.

"Anyway, we'd better get the hell out of here before we're caught," Cassandra told them.

"How about we split up?" Sakura suggested. "We'd be much harder to catch that way."

"Great idea. You two go, I'll meet up with you later," Cassandra stated.

They nodded their heads and Nishan and Sakura ran off, going separate ways. Cassandra looked straight ahead at the exit to the parking lot and began sprinting across it. Up ahead, she could see the black Toyota Noah and Payton and the others sitting up expectantly. She sprinted harder and her speed increased. She passed the last building and she could taste sweet victory, only for a heavy figure to pop out and tackle her.

"Oof!" she grunted as she felt the wind knocked out of her.

She landed heavily and the person straddled her and put her arms above her head. She looked up and lo and behold, it was Max Warren himself.

"Gotcha!" he gloated as he looked her in the eye.

She struggled to get Max off her but he was stronger than her. This was not good at all.

"Get off me, Max!" she demanded.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked her incredulously. "I caught you red-handed! I don't what you're doing here but you're trespassing!"

She scoffed, "Oh, coz it's less severe than corruption and bullying!"

He snorted, "Please! Spare me the holier-than-thou attitude. I don't give a damn about that crap."

"I noticed that, Captain Obvious," she said sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes and told her, "Now, I'm going to pull out my phone and call my good friend Officer Jenkins to come pick you up. You're going to have so much fun in jail."

Cassandra knew he was serious about it, especially when he pulled out his phone from his pocket. She had to think of something, and fast!

"Max, wait!" she called him.

He looked down at her and asked in a dry tone, "What the hell do you want, Sage?"

She licked her lips and continued in a sultry tone, "Before you do that, how about a kiss for the road?"

Max's eyes widened in confusion and stopped tapping away at the phone. He asked her, "Wait, what?"

Good. He was confused. People were more gullible when they were confused. "You heard me. I want a kiss before I go to jail," she persuaded him.

"Are you even listening to yourself? That's not a thing people do," he told her, though he was unconvinced.

"Come on, honey. Just a quick one," she teased him.

"But I'm with Kara..." he trailed off.

She grinded herself slightly against him and planted the final seed in his mind.

"Come on. She's not going to know, is she? It's just you and me and the stars that'll know," she said in a silky tone.

He looked conflicted and then he finally shrugged. Why the heck not? She was going to jail anyway. He slowly leaned down and was getting closer to her soft lips. Cassandra smirked at this; everything was going according to plan. His grip loosened from her wrists and let his guard down. His lips were barely brushing hers when she punched him in the face and crossed her feet around his neck and slammed him on the ground.

He groaned in pain while Cassandra took the opportunity to get him off her and run like hell. Max recovered and began chasing after her.

"Get back here!" Max yelled.

"Catch me if you can!" Cassandra taunted him.

Right in front of her, the door to the Noah was slid open. Cassandra dove in just as Max was about to grab her.

"Go, go, go!" Cassandra yelled at Payton.

She didn't need to be told twice. She stepped on the gas pedal and drove off, leaving Max in the dust.

"Nooo!" Max yelled.

"Yessss!" Julian whooped.

Payton drove the group back to the campus. Later, they all regrouped at the Prep Hangout, their hearts pumping and adrenaline racing through their bodies.

Wes commended them, "Amazing work, everyone. I've pulled a lot of heists in my day... but that was by far the best. Team Pom-Poms, great work on the decoy. You were more convincing than most actual cheerleaders."

Everyone chuckled at this, even Julian.

"Yeah, yeah, you did pretty good too, Eagle-Eye. And we couldn't have done it without Team Strikeforce," Julian said warmly.

"Cassandra kept Max off our tails. Now that's what I call a great teammate," Sakura complimented.

Everyone cheered for Cassandra, who blushed and downplayed it.

"It was teamwork at the end of the day," she told them.

"Anyway, I have the transcripts. I'll go home and review them. Then we can have the Student Council present them to the Board tomorrow," Wes informed them. "For now, go home and rest. It's been one hell of an evening."

Everyone nodded in agreement and went their separate ways. Tomorrow, they would bear witness to the fall of an empire.

 **The next day...**

Jacob and Jessica were dressed to kill as they waited on Professor Edwin, the only member of the Board who was willing to hear the accusations against Hearst High. Luckily for them, Professor Edwin was the type of person who kept time. She arrived dressed immaculately in a black skirt suit. The dynamic duo of Jessica and Jacob went up to her and greeted her with presidential smiles on their faces.

"Professor Edwin, thank you so much for coming out to meet us," Jessica greeted her and held out her hand for a handshake.

Professor Edwin took her hand but with a scowl on her face, "I'm a busy woman, so don't waste my time. After what happened at your disastrous science fair, you should be lucky I'm here at all."

"Of course. We'll keep this fast and professional," Jacob said.

Professor Edwin nodded, "Much appreciated. Now what is it you've found?"

"We've managed to get our hands on some information that you absolutely must see..." Jacob began.

"It proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a tangled conspiracy of corruption and fraud in Hearst High..." Jessica continued.

"A conspiracy that goes all the way to the top!" Jacob finished.

Jacob and Jessica showed the transcripts to Professor Edwin, along with Sakura's notes. She took out a spectacle case and put on her spectacles. She began reviewing the evidence carefully, her eyebrows folding into a frown the more she read. After a few minutes, she finally spoke, "This is... incredibly troubling. I'm not even going to ask how you got your hands on it."

Jessica smiled, "That's probably for the best."

"I'd long suspected there was something suspicious occurring at Hearst... but I never imagined it was this flagrant or sweeping. I'll need to present a copy of this to the rest of the School Board. I can't promise you they'll act on it... but I'll do my best," she assured them.

She left with the evidence in hand. Jessica and Jacob looked at each other and nodded. Now, all they had to do was wait.

 **After school...**

The gang was hanging out in the Slacker Hangout, waiting for any news on Hearst to appear on the local news. As they waited, they were recounting the most memorable parts of the Heist to each other and having a good laugh about it.

"And then, Julian was all like, 'I sure am a cheerleader! I love yelling and flipping and--'" Payton began recalling.

All of a sudden, Cassandra noticed Professor Edwin on the TV and it seemed that she was holding a press conference.

"Yo, check it out. It's Professor Edwin," Cassandra announced.

Everyone's focus shifted to the TV and Cassandra turned up the volume with the remote.

"... saddened to report that an anonymous tip has revealed significant corruption, favoritism, and bullying at Hearst High. The School Board has gone over the information and decided to place Hearst High under review. Independent monitors will be placed within the school to closely review all academic exchanges, as well as look out for bullying or harassment. In addition, Principal Warren has been suspended without pay," Professor Edwin read out from a typed up press statement in front of her.

"In other words...the fall of an Empire" Wes stated.

They all cheered and clapped at this.

"I think it's safe to say that Hearst won't be bothering us anytime soon," Wes stated with a smirk on his face.

Cassandra's phone buzzed with a text. She took her phone out of her pocket and frowned at the text she read.

"Yeah. Wes, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Cassandra told him.

Cassandra held up her phone so that all could read the text she got from Max.

'Cassie. We need to talk. I'm coming to you.'

"What the hell does he want? No way he would try anything after this mess," Payton wondered.

Cassandra stood up and stretched.

"Only one way you find out. Let's go to him," Cassandra said, beckoning to them with a slight shift of her head.

The others stood up and accompanied her to the parking lot. A few minutes after their arrival. Max's car pulled into the parking lot.

"Get ready," Cassandra murmured.

Max and Kara got of the car. Max's face was a mask of fury while Kara's was slightly apprehensive, a total change from her normal sneer. Max jutted a finger in Cassandra's direction and growled, "You! You got my dad suspended."

"It was a long time coming, Maxie. I just helped speed it along. A little present from us to you," Cassandra drawled, blowing him a little kiss and twiddling her her fingers.

"You think you're so clever, don't you? Breaking into our school, hacking Mr. Georgette's computer, giving the tip to Professor Edwin..." Max raged.

"Whoa there. That's a heck of a lot of speculation. Where's the proof? Julian asked.

"I saw Cassandra there!" Max shouted in frustration.

He lunged forward only for Kara to stop him.

"Max, no! Hearst is already under review. Do anything now, and we will be in deeper shit than before," Kara warned him.

Max narrowed his eyes and cracked his knuckles. He exhaled and sighed, "Funny thing is, she's right. You may have won this battle but you haven't won this war. Know this, Cassandra, Hearst will rise back up and when it does, watch your back."

Max and Kara walked back to the car and drove off. Cassandra watched them leave. Wes put an arm on her shoulder and asked," You letting him go? "

Cassandra was silent for a moment before responding,"Yeah. We've beaten him already. No need to rub it in. It is said that you should be wise and graceful in victory."

Wes thought about it and nodded in agreement. Cassandra then turned around and faced him. She looked him in the eye and spoke, "Wes. None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much for helping us."

Wes shrugged it off, "Hey. Just helping out my new school."

"If there's anything I can do for you..."

Wes rubbed his chin in thought and told her, "Well...there is one thing. See, it's always been my dream to pull something like this off. It's not just that it's the perfect heist. It's also for a good cause. It's kind of silly, but I always had this image in my head that when I was done, I'd stand in front of a fountain and celebrate my victory."

Cassandra asked him with a smile, "Wait a second. Are you trying to create the ending to Ocean's Eleven?"

"Is that so wrong?" Wes asked with a grin on his face.

Cassandra laughed and beckoned to him, "Let's go."

Thr group walked to the water fountains near the picnic benches. Wes stood in front of one of them. Cassandra joined him. Julian, Autumn and Payton came over to stand with her, followed closely by Mia, Nishan, and Sakura. Cassandra asked him, "How's this?"

"Absolutely perfect," Wes replied.

They all stood in silence, enjoying the sweet taste of victory. The splashing water only served to add to the serenity of the moment.

After a while, Julian walked over to Wes and held out his hand.

"You did good, Wes. You ever need me to get your back, just let me know," Julian commended him.

Wes shook his hand in return. Nishan piped in, "Yeah, me too. Thanks for showing me that I could run and sneak and all that. I feel like a new man!"

Payton squealed, "And I just can't believe we're finally done with Hearst! Best news ever! Whooooo!"

Sakura added, "Mission accomplished. Achievement unlocked. GG, everyone."

Mia stated, "Maybe this is the wake up call my dad needs. Something to make him finally realize how badly he's treated people."

Autumn went over and hugged Cassandra firmly. She told her, "I always knew you'd turn this into a great school, Cassie. And now, without having to worry about Hearst all the time, you can finally focus on the important things."

Cassandra beamed at this. Now they could rest for a bit.

"So what's next for us?" Cassandra wondered.

Payton replied, "Duh! We celebrate!"

"How?" Nishan inquired.

"We should throw a carnival!" Payton replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Cassandra nodded and threw her hands up. "I think that sounds fun! A carnival it is then!"

 **Author's note:**

 _And that's a wrap for the heist at Hearst! They won't be bothering Avalon anytime soon! It was a lot of fun and work typing this up over Christmas. So now, it's time they celebrated with a carnival! As always please read and review and ideas are welcome. I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. Stay tuned for more adventures in Avalon! See you next update! Bye bye! Happy holidays! :)_


	16. Sledgehammer

**StanfordBound2020: I had a good laugh at writing Cassandra punching Max. He did deserve it. :) Anyway, on with the carnival.**

The gang was seated on the grass having a discussion on the upcoming school carnival.

"... I'm all for it. But organizing it is not going to be a walk in the park," Cassandra pointed out.

"Au contraire, Cassie," Payton refuted. "It's all renting rides, setting up gaming booths, make food and decorate."

"Wow," Cassandra said in amazement. "It's like you've done this stuff before, sweetheart."

Payton giggled, "I wish. I've spent a couple of hours fantasizing about organizing a carnival and putting all the ideas cohesively in this color-coded binder."

Payton opened her purse and got out a sparkly, purple-covered binder and passed it over to Cassandra. She took it and opened it. Inside were a bunch of ideas scribbled down neatly in Payton's cursive handwriting. Heart-shaped sticky notes were on the edges of the notebook. Pictures of carnival rides, food and the type of decorations to be used were right beside the notes.

Cassandra had to give credit where it was due; Payton was the consummate organizer and as such, she would be in charge of the organization of the carnival.

"Alright, then. Payton you're in charge, Cassandra decided.

"And I take it she'll need help?" Wes asked rhetorically.

"Yup," Cassandra replied, popping the 'p' in the process. "Divide and conquer."

"For one, I called dibs on doing the Tunnel of Love. I have so many ideas for it. Heart-shaped boats, heart-shaped flowers, heart-shaped hearts!" Payton said excitedly. "What about the rest of you?"

"I'll take care of the rides," Julian volunteered.

"And I'll help. I should be able to calculate what happens to the human body at extreme velocities," Nishan piped in.

"Oh, I know what happens to the body at extreme velocities. Pure. Awesomeness.," Julian stated with a grin.

"I'll do the food. I'm very particular about what I want served," Mia said in a tone of voice that left no room for argument.

"And we all know Sakura's running the game booths," Cassandra laughed.

Sakura smirked, "You know me too well."

"I can help with decorations," Autumn chirped.

"What about Wes?" Nishan asked.

"By the way..."

Cassandra looked around but couldn't find him. The guy had just disappeared like smoke.

"What the...? Where did he go?" Cassandra wondered aloud.

"Anyway, getting the materials for building the booths and renting the rides will require finances," Payton said as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Not a problem. Just write down a budget of the estimated amount of money you'll need and hand it over to the Student Govs," Cassandra told her.

"Sure thing, Cass."

Cassandra stood up and stretched out.

"If any of you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know," Cassandra told them as she walked off.

 _(Time skip)_

The whole week was one of preparation for the celebratory carnival. Classes had been cut to half-day for everyone so that they could get time to prepare everything for the carnival. Everyone in the school chipped in to ensure that it was a success. Payton had requested Cassandra to assist her with ensuring that everything would be up by the day of the carnival. Cassandra was happy to assist in any way that she could.

First, she began with checking on the rides and saw Nishan and Julian directing the people from the rental company on where to set up the rides. She whistled and beckoned to them with a wave of her hand. They ran over to where she was standing.

"Hey guys. How's it going over here?" Cassandra asked.

"Awesome! We made sure to rule out the rides with the highest bucket factor as we chose," Nishan replied.

"That's about how long it takes you to get off the ride and find a bucket, so you can throw up," Julian explained upon seeing Cassandra's confused look.

"Noted, though TMI," Cassandra told him with a wrinkle of her nose. "Tell me what we got here."

"We have the Tsunami Whip-Splash! It's this crazy water coaster that races you through rip-roaring rapids and heaves you off a huge waterfall... " Julian began.

"And we have the Gravitator. Unsuspecting victims step onto a large spinning platter that pins them to the wall! The wonders of centrifugal force!" Nishan finished with a flourish of his hands.

Cassandra nodded and left them discussing the logistics relating to the rides. She went off to check in on Mia, who was busy with the Hipsters Allison, Nadiyah and Kai discussing food pairings as they prepared the carnival snacks.

"I say a food. You tell me what it pairs best with," Mia told them. "Peanut butter."

"Fig jam," Allison promptly answered.

"Strawberries."

"Balsamic vinegar. Deglazed, so it's thick and syrupy," Nadiyah responded.

"Baguettes?"

"Nothing. The best baguettes are from France, and don't require anything except for grass-fed butter," Kai replied with a starry-eyed look in his face.

Cassandra cleared her throat and they looked up. She smiled and asked, "Everything okay?"

Mia perked up and smiled, "Oh hey, Cassandra. Our school isn't tasteless as I thought. I found people who actually get my vision of good food."

"So what are you preparing?" Cassandra inquired.

"Basil apricot- ton candy, deconstructed corn dogs, butter, bagels ..."

Cassandra heard all she needed to know and from what she knew about the students in the school, this wasn't going to do. She raised a hand to silence Mia.

"Babe, you do know this is a carnival not a gourmet restaurant right?" Cassandra asked Mia with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I know. But would it hurt to try to have something new?" Mia posed.

"Just buy a couple of normal snacks as a contingency plan," Cassandra wheedled.

Mia nodded, albeit in reluctance. Cassandra went off to check in with Autumn and Sakura, who were busy at work building the booths with assistance from other preps and artists. There wasn't much issue on their end and construction was coming up pretty well.

Cassandra went to Payton to give her report. Payton was busy sprucing up the Tunnel of Love with roses.

"Hey, Pay. The Everything's nearly in place. The rides are set up, the food table's on its way and the games are coming up pretty well," Cassandra informed her.

Payton turned around and looked at her with an eager smile.

"Fantastic!" she said in excitement. "Okay. You go home and rest, Cass. I'll take care of everything else."

"Wait, won't you need..." Cassandra started but Payton put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Shush. You've done so much for us, Cassie. Now let's take care of you for once," Payton told her beaming. "Now go home and come tomorrow ready to have yourself a good time."

Cassandra thought about it and shrugged. It would be nice to get some rest. She gave Payton a two finger salute and walked off to the parking lot to get her car and go home for the evening.

 **The next day...**

Cassandra arrived in school, dressed casually in denim overalls, black boots and a black leather jacket. From the moment she stepped out of her car, she could feel the excitement of the students all around her for the carnival. Some students were dressed in specially made shirts for the occasion. They were written, 'Keep Calm and Think Carnival.'

Cassandra smiled as she walked towards the grounds where the carnival was being held. It was good to see the students in high spirits after all they had gone through to ensure that the school stayed open. She arrived at the entrance to the the carnival and was surprised to see Wes greeting people as they went in.

"Welcome to the greatest carnival the city's ever seen! Feast your eyes on the crazy rides and the bright lights, or simply feast on the finest of fair foods!" Wes welcomed them.

Cassandra clapped dramatically as she walked slowly towards him. He looked at her and gave her his signature smirk.

"That was quite the introduction, Mr. Deveaux. And here I was, thinking that you'd slipped out of helping out with the carnival," Cassandra said with a bright smile on her face.

"I take it you're impressed, Ms. Sage-Beckett?" Wes asked rhetorically.

She nodded and he continued, "I couldn't turn down being a carnival barker. It's the most important job there is. Besides, I want to make sure everyone has a good time. Especially you."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at that statement and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh really now?" she asked, doubt evident in her voice.

Wes raised his arms in surrender and replied, "I'm damn serious. You've done plenty for me. It's time I returned the favour."

The corner of her lips quirked into a smile and relented.

"Okay then. So tell me, Wes. What do we do first?"

"We?" He asked curiously.

"No. I mean Santa Claus," Cassandra said sarcastically. "Yes you. You also need some time to relax."

Wes chuckled. "Well, there are the rides we could go on together."

Cassandra smiled. "Lead the way, Deveaux."

"Gladly, Sage."

He put an arm around her shoulders and they walked together towards the rides.

Once they arrived, they found a bit of a queue and they had to wait their turn. Wes still had his arm around her and Cassandra had to admit, she liked it that way. She felt pretty good and wouldn't have it any other way. She actually wished that the queue wouldn't move fast so that she could get more of Wes. Luckily, the rides were made for two and she had him all to herself for the duration of the carnival.

After ten minutes of standing, their turn came and they stepped in to the water coaster. Once they were secure, it lurched forward making them both yelp on surprise. The damn thing was super fast and took some real twists and turns. The wind blew in their ears due to the fast speed they were going at.

"How did this pass the bucket test?" she yelled.

At some point, they approached a sharp corner and she thought they'd be thrown off the ride. She screamed in fright and without thinking twice, she wrapped her arms around Wes like a vice. The ride just negotiated the corner sharply but she still wouldn't let go.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" Wes choked out from her firm grip.

The ride began slowing down, signaling that they were at the end and it finally came to a stop at the starting point.

"Uh, Cass? You can let go of me now," Wes told her.

Cassandra let go quickly and blushed. She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear as they got off the ride.

"Where to next?" Cassandra asked.

"I guess some food is in order if you're up for it," Wes suggested.

They went looking for Mia's booth where they found her leaning against the table, sighing sadly.

"What's with the long face, Princess?" Wes asked her.

She looked at them unenthusiastically and said, "Hey guys. I've been trying to get guys to try out the gourmet food I made but noone seems willing to try it."

"I'll try it, Mia," Cassandra volunteered.

Mia's face brightened a little bit as she handed them both some cotton candy. Cassandra took a bite of it and she made a face as she popped it in her mouth.

"Whoa, that is weird," she commented. "Basil and sugar don't go well together."

"Starting to see why people aren't biting," Wes agreed.

"I'm guessing you're not going to like the deconstructed corn dog either," Mia told them dryly. She covered her face with her hands. "This is a disaster! It was a good call to buy the normal snacks then."

Cassandra could sense her disappointment and decided to cheer her up by pointing something out to her.

"Hey. It wasn't a total disaster. Look over there."

Mia looked at the other end of the booth where Cassandra was pointing and saw Julian and Nishan eating the gourmet food and moaning in satisfaction at the taste.

"Whoa, Mia, these corn dogs are really good! Especially with the fancy mustard and ketchup stuff you've got on the tables!" Julian complimented her.

Mia perked up at this.

"The mustard's hand-ground from France! And the ketchup was made fresh this morning!" She told them.

"Nice. The selection of condiments is statistically satisfying," Nishan commended her.

Mia gave him a bright smile and proceeded to serve them more of the gourmet food. Cassandra and Wes made do with some funnel cakes and chocolate bars. Cassandra took a bite of the cake and moaned at the delicious taste.

"Why does fried dough taste so good?" she asked noone in particular.

"Why do people like secrets? Because they're both so delicious," Wes replied. "Now then! It's time to step up! Hope you're ready to play some games."

Cassandra smirked and finished the rest of her snacks. Once done, they went to Sakura's game booth, where students were trying their hand at Sakura's game challenges and failing miserably.

As they approached, Cassandra remarked, "Wow, that looks brutal."

Sakura was nearby and she heard Cassandra's remark. She gave them a roguish smile, "You know me. I like punishing people brutally for their failures."

"What's in the challenge?" Wes inquired.

"We have the Ring Toss, the High Striker, and the Rope Ladder Climb," Sakura answered. "You only get one try at each challenge, then you have to move to the next one."

"Damn..." Wes murmured.

"If that's not your cup of tea, we have the Water Gun Range over there," she gestured to the other end of the booth.

"I'll stick to the Water Gun Range," Wes decided.

"And you know me. I'm not one to turn down a challenge," Cassandra told him.

"Good luck, Cass."

"Acknowledged. See you in a few."

Cassandra and Sakura stepped up to the Ring Toss. Sakura stood on the sides with a stopwatch in hand.

"You ready, Cass?" Sakura asked.

"Always ready," Cassandra replied.

"You only have a minute to do this," Sakura reminded her. "And begin!"

She tapped the stopwatch and Cassandra ran up to the Ring Toss station, grabbed a plastic ring, and threw it high. The ring arched into the air and miraculously settled on a bottleneck. She ran up next to a numbered tower with a metal plate at the bottom. Sakura handed her the hammer. She raised it over her head, but at the top, it teetered to the side. She balanced the hammer and struck down on the plate. The puck rocketed up and hit the bell at the top. Next was the Rope Ladder. She climbed on, and immediately the ladder started teetering wildly to the right and left. She inched forward carefully. Suddenly, the ladder dipped to the left.

"Whoa!" she yelped.

She put her weight on the right, and the ladder settled. She clambered to the top.

The students who had been watching her progress cheered the moment she successfully finished all three challenges. She dropped down and high-fived the surrounding students. Autumn was waiting for her with a gigantic stuffed panda. She handed it to her with a smile.

"Good work, Cass!" she congratulated her as Cassandra took the panda.

Sakura walked over to them and told her warmly, "That wasn't completely terrible!"

Autumn sighed in exasperation and said, "I think she means congratulations."

Cassandra walked back to Wes who was busy spraying water into the dummies' mouth and watching balloons fill up from the top.

"Having fun, Wes?" Cassandra asked in a growly voice, hiding behind the panda.

Wes looked at the panda and laughed.

"Yes, I am, Mr. Panda," he replied.

"Mr. Panda? Really? One, that's rather generic. And two, she's female. I'm insulted," Cassandra told him in a mock hurt voice.

"What would you have me call her then?" Wes asked curiously.

"Hmmm," she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "I think Iltani works. Or what say you?"

"I think it's cute," Wes told her softly. "Just like you."

Cassandra beamed at him and turned to the game in front of them. She handed the doll to the attendant and asked for a water gun to try her hand at it. Rather than squirt water at the dummies, she shot at Wes's face. He looked at her in shock and she laughed at the look on his face.

"What was that for?" Wes asked.

Rather than answer, she sprayed at him again. This time he was ready and he ducked. He aimed at her and she ran off, laughing all the while. Wes chased after her, spraying water at her. She ran behind the booth and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Catch me if you can," she taunted.

Wes smirked as she ran off, jumping over benches, rails and tables in the way. He gave chase, employing some of his skateboard skills in the process.

Cassandra had to admit, he was pretty fast. He began to catch up to her and were neck and neck. He tackled her and they went down.

"Gotcha!" he said triumphantly.

They were lying side by side and it was easy for them to forget the world around them. They were busy laughing too hard on the grass. Once the laughter had died down, they looked at each other for what seemed like forever before Wes stood up and held out his hand to her. She took it and he helped her up. They walked back to the game booth and they handed the water guns back to the attendant and in return, Cassandra got back the panda.

She looked up at Wes and asked, "Where to next?"

"You may have heard that there's a Tunnel of Love?"

Cassandra snorted, "Payton's mentioned it once or twice... or, like, ten times."

"Excellent. Let's go."

Wes led her to the Tunnel of Love's entrance where couples were entering the boats hand in hand directed by Payton. The moment she saw them, she squealed up and ran up to them.

"Aah! It's about time I saw you two," she said happily. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves."

"We are. Thanks to your organization," Cassandra told her warmly.

"You're too much, Cass," she blushed. "Anyway, are you two here for a ride or what?"

"Yup," Wes said, popping the 'p'.

"I hope you two are going together," Payton said eagerly.

Wes and Cassandra looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Ummmm..." Cassandra began.

"Errr..." Wes put in.

"Come on. Just go together!" Payton begged, grabbing them by the shoulders and pushing them towards an empty swan boat. "Trust me, you'll thank me later."

At her insistence, they stepped in the boat and it glided forward. Inside the Tunnel of Love, the boat gently passed through a curtain of hearts and into the tunnel beyond. They floated into one room with a beautiful red and purple sunset.

"Whoa, I got to hand it to her straight, she has an eye for decoration," Wes remarked.

"Amen," Cassandra agreed.

In the next room, there was see a picnic on the beachside.

"Not bad. That would be a date worth going on," Cassandra said, a smile on her face.

Wes shrugged, "Not really to my tastes but yeah, I could get behind that."

And in the last room, they glided under a dome of infinite dazzling stars. They looked up in amazement at the detail in the stars.

"Perfect for making out with your significant other," Cassandra murmured.

Wes looked at her, smirking.

"Are you trying to tell me something, Sage?"

"What? I wouldn't blush if you laid one on me, Deveaux."

Wes looked at her for a while and then cupped her face. Cassandra's heart raced as he leaned in and caught her lips in a gentle kiss. It increased in intensity as she kissed him back. He tugged on her lower lip and his tongue slid into her cavern. Their tongues danced with each other and to Cassandra, this felt right as she wrapped her fingers in his hair. They separated from each other and her lips quivered from all the feelings rushing through her. They looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Oh, wow," she whispered.

"Yeah," he murmured.

She however, wanted more of his embrace. This was not meant to be as light emerged at the end of the tunnel. After the tunnel ended, they jumped out and before they could say anything, were interrupted by Payton.

"So, did you enjoy yourselves or what?" she asked with a knowing look on her face.

"Yeah, you could say that," Cassandra stated.

The rest of the evening went by in a fun blur, and by the end, Cassandra and company regrouped at the picnic tables.

Payton exclaimed, "Success! The carnival was amazing!"

Nishan agreed, "Went off without a hitch!"

Julian smiled, "Want to know why my day was awesome? I rode my water coaster six times! Eat that, bucket test!"

Payton asked curiously, "What's the bucket test?"

"Trust me, you're better off not knowing," Cassandra told her.

Sakura said, "What I really loved was the food. Whose idea was it to slice up hot dogs and make savory cotton candy?"

Mia perked up, "Aww, it was mine! And your games were great, Sakura. I won a prize!"

Autumn inquired, "Cassie, what was your favorite part?"

Cassandra replied, "Ummm...I don't know. I mean, the entire thing was a blast."

She ran a hand through her hair as her face warmed up at the time she spent with one certain Slacker. Speaking of him, where was he? She looked around and saw that once again, he wasn't with them.

"Yo. Has anyone seen Wes?" Cassandra inquired.

They all shook their heads and she announced, "I'm gonna go look for him. Sayonara."

She stood up and went of in search if the elusive Wes. She began searching the school in all logical places that Wes was likely to be in. She searched the gym, the parking lot and the library but he wasn't there. She finally decided to check the Slacker Hangouts and luckily for her, he was there. He was seated on the couch, remote in hand and was flipping through the channels on the TV.

Cassandra leaned on the doorway with her arms folded on her chest.

"I thought I'd find you here, Wes," she spoke at the doorway.

Wes turned around and looked at her.

He gave her a smirk and asked, "There's nowhere I can't hide from you, is there?"

"Ouch. That hurts. But yes, I pretty much own this school so I know every nook and cranny."

"Noted."

There was a brief moment of silence before Wes asked rhetorically, "So you gonna stand there or you're going to have a seat?"

Cassandra walked up to the couch and sat besides him. After another pause, he asked, "What brings you here?"

"Well, I was worried about you. You just disappeared after the Tunnel of Love. Didn't you enjoy yourself?"

"Oh, I did. I pretty much loved the entire carnival."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow, "But..."

"But nothing. I'm okay Cass. You don't have to worry about me."

"Sure thing. Nothing to worry about, especially with the disappearing act.

Wes shifted himself so that he was facing her fully. He cleared his throat and said, "Okay. Let's get one thing straight here, Cass. That's just me. I enjoy the whole man of mystery stuff because that's just me. I prefer working in the shadows because it's my thing."

"Noted. Though with that viewpoint you should be a Wallflower, not a Slacker."

Wes chuckled, "Fair point."

They both laughed for a bit and it helped break the ice for what Cassandra was about to discuss next.

"Another thing. That kiss..." Cassandra began.

Wes raised his hand to silence her and said, "Hold up, Sage-Beckett. That was just a kiss. Nothing more, nothing less."

This time, Cassandra shifted so that she was facing him.

"Bull. Shit. Deveaux," she said, emphasizing on every syllable. "That was one heck of a kiss."

Wes shrugged, "What can I say? I'm a good kisser."

"On that we can agree. But that kiss is not the type you give to a friend. That's the type of kiss you give to someone that you want badly. That's the type of kiss you give to someone you like a lot. How am I doing? Am I correct in assuming that you feel something for me?"

At this point, Cassandra and Wes were looking each other in the eye intensely. The silence was so loud and evident that you could hear a pin drop. Cassandra licked her lips nervously. Maybe she had read too much into the kiss. She especially regretted broaching the topic when Wes stood up and ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair. However, that changed when he said, "You know what? Fuck it!"

He took her hands and helped her up. He then put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her close.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"What I should have done a long time ago," he responded.

He leaned in and he kissed her and the world fell away. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest. If he could feel her own pulse and heartbeat, it was like a sledgehammer. They walked backwards, lips still locked until Cassandra hit the wall. Wes pushed her against it and lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he trailed kisses against her jaw. He told her, "Truth be told Cass, I feel something for you. I'm not sure if it's love or lust but I'm willing to figure it out if you are."

"I'm game, Wes," she breathed as he traveled to her neck and bit down gently on her sensitive flesh. That was likely to leave a mark, not that she was complaining. He whispered in her ear, "Mine."

She smiled and marked his own neck and whispered back, "Mine."

Their lips met once more in a gentle and insistent kiss. That's how it was and they wouldn't have it any other way.

 **Author's** **note:** _And that's a wrap for the carnival! Truth be told, I had writer's block when I was writing this chapter down not to mention a few other activities in real life. But it worked out well in the end. I hope that you like it! :) Finally, Cass and Wes get together. It's been a long time coming. I loved writing the scenes between them. The title of the chapter is from the song Sledgehammer by Fifth Harmony. I thought it suited the tone of the chapter just fine. Anyway, the gang has some more adventures coming up. Stay tuned for more!!_ _I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors. Please read and review. Ideas are welcome as always. Bye bye! Canary out! :)_


	17. Cyberbully- Part One

**StanfordBound2020: I'm glad you liked the scenes between Wes and Cass. When I finished writing the chapter, I was like 'Yes! Finally! You two are together now!' :D** **It was driving me crazy but I also smiled at the cute scenes between them.** **As I say, it's been a long time coming.**

 **Cassandra's P.O.V**

Another day at Avalon High, another day of football practice. We'd been running drills for an hour so far and we weren't about to stop. The drill we were doing right now was King of the Hill. I know you're asking what the hell I'm talking about but bear with me. This drill entailed two equally matched players facing each other about a foot apart on opposite ends of a long blocking pad or wooden board. Once signaled, they run and should meet each other in the middle with a collision and then attempt to drive each other backwards off of the pad or board. The player who drove his opponent off of the board is the winner. Pretty simple right?

Anyway, right now we'd been matched up and we were doing the drills in turns. I'd been matched up with Julian and once our turn came, Julian and I got into position. Once we were settled in, the whistle blew and I took off running. Julian took off a few seconds. later, which was odd. Julian was Captain of the Knights and he was football itself. From the time I had known him, he never missed a beat whenever it came to the drills. He was always the first to take off when the whistle blew. However, his speed increased and we met in the middle with a collision. However, I knew things were really wrong when that collision didn't have the force that it normally had. And everyone knew it too once we started trying to drive the other off of the pad and his pushing was half-hearted.

"Come on, Vega! Push harder! My grandmother can push harder than that!" Sean yelled.

"Put your back into it, man!" Aaliyah encouraged.

"Don't let me down! I bet my entire week's allowance on this, Boss!" Ross shouted.

Yeah, sometimes, the players bet on who could push the other off the boards. After all, the whole point of the drill was to evaluate strength and aggressiveness. And Julian would put me down on my ass always, though I wouldn't make it easy for him. This time however, he was making it too easy for me. I was pushing him back and he was letting me! What the fuck?!

"Vega... Get your head in the game... " I grunted as I exerted my strength.

"Huh... Sure... Whatever..." he responded as he pushed me back a few steps.

It was a few minutes of struggle as we pushed each other back and forth. Finally, Julian threw me off the board and I landed on my butt with a grunt. The others sighed in relief but I wasn't relieved. That wasn't the Julian I knew. It shouldn't have taken him that long to do the drill. As we stepped aside for the next pair, I pulled him aside for a talk. Julian looked at me and asked, "Cass, everything okay?"

I quirked an eyebrow at him and replied, "I should be asking you that question, Vega."

I folded my arms across my chest and tapped my foot on the ground as I waited for an answer. He wiped the sweat dripping off his forehead with the back of his hand.

"I'm fine, Sage. No need to worry about me," he said, casting me a weak smile.

"Liar," I snorted. "Come on, man. If you wanna lie, try harder than that. What's going on with you?"

I placed my hand on his chest and gave him an earnest look. He looked into my eyes and I could see the conflict in them. He sighed and looked away. "It's nothing, Cassie."

I turned his face to look at me. "Sure about that?"

"I'm damn sure."

We looked at each other before I nodded my head. It wasn't something he was willing to share with me right now and I wasn't going to push him for details. I figured he'd tell me when he was ready.

I sighed, "Okay, Julian. If you say so. But if you need someone to talk to, know that I'm your girl."

He smiled, a genuine smile this time. "I know, Cass. And thanks."

We went back to practice though my heart wasn't really in it, especially since I was worried about Julian. I just hoped that he'd be okay, whatever it was.

 **Julian's P.O.V.**

It had been a heck of a day for me. I had a lot on my plate and on my mind. And it involved a person who meant the world to me. That person was my little sister Hope. I was worried sick about her and I didn't know what to do. She wouldn't open up to me about her problems and I was dead sure that she had one. Whenever I broached the subject, she'd either yell at me or ignore me. Cass had offered to help but I didn't know if bringing her into this was the best idea. Luckily, Cass had this way of making one feel comfortable and you could just open up to her. She'd listen and would give you her two cents on the matter. She was always genuine about how she felt and wouldn't hold back. That's what I liked about her.

After practice, I saw Cass sitting on the bench drinking some water and I figured that this was my chance to talk to her about what had been bothering me. I walked towards her and sat down next to her. She looked at me and gave me a kind smile.

"Hey. So you ready to tell me what's going on with you?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

She waited patiently for me to begin. I took a deep breath and licked my lips.

"It's about my little sister, Hope..."

Cassandra gasped in surprise, "I didn't know that you had a little sister, Julian."

I gave her a sly smile. "That's because you didn't ask, Cass."

She laughed. "Ouch. Shots fired, Vega. I'm dying."

She dramatically held her hands to her chest. I chuckled at her antics. She always knew how to make me feel better.

I continued, "Anyway, she's a freshman at that magnet school downtown. You know, Statton School of the Humanities? Previously, she'd go on and on about the how much she loved her school and how fun her classes were. Everyday, she'd talk about her friends and how cool they were. But nowadays, she seems out of it. She comes home from school and won't talk to anyone. She locks herself in her room and some days, I swear I hear her sniffling. Whenever I try to talk to her, she'll either yell at me or just ignore me."

I looked down and covered my face with the palm of my hands and spread my fingers out. I sigh, "Look Cassie. It might just be me overreacting but my gut tells me that something's not right at all. I care about my sister and I need to know that everything's okay with her."

The whole time I spoke, Cassandra just looked at me and nodded as she listened to what I had to say. When I was done, she put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Julian, look at me."

I did as she instructed and she gave me a gentle smile. "I don't have a sibling but if I did, I would have every right to be worried about her as you are now. Trust what your gut is telling you."

"Yeah, well I know something is up but she won't tell me a damn thing."

"How about this? How about I come over to your place and I have a chat with Hope? Maybe she'd feel more comfortable talking to me," Cassandra suggested.

I thought about and I had to admit, it seemed like a pretty solid plan. Hope wasn't telling me anything but maybe she'd feel comfortable talking it over with Cass. I nodded. "Yeah. I can roll with that. She gets off school soon. We can head over to my place."

We stood up and headed for the locker rooms. As we walked, I called Cassandra, "Hey Cass?"

She turned around and looked at me. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for listening to me. It feels good to get it off my chest."

She beamed. "What are you thanking me for, Julian? There are no thank you's between friends."

"Still, I appreciate it."

She nodded and we continued on to the locker rooms.

 _(Time skip)_

 **Cassandra's P.O.V**

Julian drove me to his house after practice. It was an uneventful drive, one done in silence. We arrived at his house in a pretty quiet neighborhood. He extracted the keys from the ignition and we got out. He walked to the front door with me following him closely behind and he opened the front door. He led me inside and welcomed me, "This is home for me, Cassie."

I looked around at the warm cozy living room. There were leather couches, an oak coffee table and a flat screen TV nearby. There was a coat hanger and shoe rack by the door. Under my feet was a soft-looking rug. By the windows, there was a dining table made of mahogany. Julian told me, "Have a seat. Let me grab us some drinks."

He stepped into the kitchen to get the drinks as I went over and sat on the cozy couch. As I took note of my surroundings, I heard footsteps on the stairs and I turned around in the direction of the noise. A young girl of around fourteen years descended from the stairs. She had tanned skin, brown hair and brown eyes. She had a strong resemblance to Julian.

"Hey," I greeted her warmly.

"Ummmm...hey yourself," Hope greeted warily.

"I take it you're Hope, Julian's little sister."

"Yeah, I am. Do I know you?"

Just as I was about to respond, Julian stepped out from the kitchen with two root beers.

"I see you two have met. Hope, this is Cassandra Sage-Beckett," Julian introduced her.

Hope folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Aah. So you're that Cassandra. Not a day goes by when he doesn't mention your name. From the way he talks about you, you'd think that the both of you are dating."

Julian's face flushed red as I chuckled and Hope beamed at her comedic wit.

"Quiet, Hope," Julian grumbled.

He walked over to the table and placed the drinks on the table and sat next to me. He subtly nudged me to get on with finding out what was going on with Hope. I nodded and grabbed my root beer and took a swig of it. Broaching this topic would require some finesse.

"So, Hope," I began. "I hear you're a student at Statton."

"Um, yeah," Hope affirmed as she tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and licked her lips. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious. Do you do art?"

"Yeah. I'm actually attending Statton on an art scholarship."

"That is good to hear."

I took in a deep breath and thought of the next question carefully. "How is it being a student there?"

Hope looked down and mumbled, "It's okay, I guess."

There was something clearly wrong with her. She wasn't making eye contact meaning she was lying about it. Her phone buzzed with a text and she took it out of her pocket. She read the text and I thought I could see her eyes water up with tears. Things were not good at all.

"You sure things are good?" I asked.

Hope gave me a weak smile. "I'm sure."

Julian whispered to me, "Do something, Cassie."

Hope wasn't clearly going to divulge anymore information if I pushed the matter. I had to get her in an environment where she would feel free to talk to me. Maybe bowling would do the trick.

"So uh, listen. Julian and I were about to step out and go bowling. I'd like you to come with us. Get to know you a little more if you don't mind," I suggested.

Hope looked at me for a few moments and replied, "Umm...okay. Sure. I don't mind."

I beamed at her. "Excellent. Grab your jacket."

Hope rushed upstairs to do as I had instructed her while Julian and I finished our drinks. A few minutes later, she came downstairs, jacket in hand and announced, "Okay, I'm ready."

We stood up and headed for Julian's car.

 **At Queen's Bowling Alley...**

"Whoo! Go Hope! That's another strike!" I cheered.

I had to admit, Hope was really good at bowling. As the bowling ball struck all the pins, her face lit up with a smile. Her spirits seemed to have been lifted. Maybe she would be able to tell me what was going on with her.

"That's my girl! This is the happiest I have seen you in weeks!" Julian told her warmly.

"Well, you guys are good company, and I'm always happy in good company," Hope beamed.

"C'mon, I'll buy you a milkshake," I offered.

She shrugged in agreement and we walked over to the snack bar. Hope and I hopped onto 50s-style vinyl barstools and made our orders for two strawberry milkshakes. A few minutes later, the waiter handed us the shakes and we began sipping on them. Hope's phone buzzed with a text and she took her phone out of her pocket and grimaced at what she read.

I gave her a look of concern. "Everything okay?"

She looked at me and gave me strained smile. "Never better."

Her phone buzzed again and when she read what was on the screen, her eyes welled up with tears.

I raised an eyebrow at this. "You sure about that, sweetie? You can't honestly tell me that things are good."

She looked conflicted at whether to say anything and then she sighed in resignation. "Okay then. Um... some people at my school have been texting my phone and posting on my school page saying some really, um, mean things... But I swear I can handle it. Please don't tell Julian."

A voice behind us stated, "Cassandra doesn't need to tell me anything."

We both whirled around and saw Julian standing with his arms folded across his chest.

"Well, this is awkward," I murmured.

"Julian, you were eavesdropping?!" Hope exclaimed.

"Hardly. I was getting myself a snack," Julian defended himself. "And besides, nobody gets a way with hurting you. Who's doing this to you? I'll take care of him. "

"First of all, it's a girl doing this. Number two I don't want to talk about it, especially with you, so back off!"

Hope glared at him as she hopped off the stool and stomped off.

"But..." Julian tried to protest and follow her but I held him back.

"Whoa there, big guy. You do not want to piss her off more. She'll just close off. Trust me on this," I whispered in his ear.

He growled in frustration and then sighed. "You're right, Cass. Knowing her, she needs time to calm down."

I smiled at him and patted his shoulder. "That's right."

I frowned in thought. "Do you know what she meant when she said people were posting to her school page? Have people been posting stuff to her on Facebook?"

"Naah, Hope's school has its own site called the Statton School Gossip Board. Every student has their own personal page, and I think you can send messages to each other publicly. But it's hard to access. You have to be a student at their school," Julian explained.

"Not for someone with computer expertise," I smirked. "We can go to the Nerd Hangouts tomorrow and ask one of the Nerds or the Hackers to help us out."

Julian smiled. "That works for me."

 **The next day...**

 **Third Person P.O.V.**

Cassandra and Julian were in the Nerd Hangout with Dylan, who about to log into the Gossip Board.

"Thanks for doing us this solid, Dylan," Julian told him appreciatively.

Dylan shrugged, "It's no big deal. I have a friend who goes to Statton, and he gave me access. This is as easy as reciting pi."

Dylan logged in and typed in Hope's name. Her face popped up on the screen along with a wall of posts where other students had been publicly messaging her. The trio's eyes widened at the content in front of them.

"Holy hell," Cassandra murmured.

"Jesus Christ," Dylan remarked.

"What. The. Fuck!" Julian exclaimed.

Dylan scrolled through a bunch of nasty and insulting messages students posted to Hope's page.

"Listen to this... 'Hope Vega is such a whore'...'Ugliest girl at school. No contest.'..." Cassandra read out some of the comments.

"Damn. Or this one... 'Hope, everyone knows what you did, you dumb stupid bitch. I hope you die and burn in hell, you little...' Yeah I'm not finishing that one up. My mouth already feels dirty enough," Dylan commented.

"Isn't anyone monitoring this shit?" Julian wondered. "Dylan, can you take it down?"

"I wish, Bossman. But I can't," Dylan informed him.

Cassandra licked her lips. "Julian, this is not good."

"Yeah, no kidding," Julian agreed. "Why the hell would she hide this? Why? I mean, what is wrong with these people? Why would they do this? Why would anyone in their right minds do this?"

Julian slumped down into the seat besides Dylan, covering his face with his hands. Cassandra walked over to him and draped her arms around his neck in a comforting hug.

"It'll be okay. But I think it's time we got the whole story. Or what say you?"

"I agree. Though I can't come with. She's made it pretty clear that she won't tell me a damn thing."

"True enough. I'll get someone with people skills. I'll tell you how it goes."

Cassandra turned around and walked out of the Nerd Hangout with a determined swagger. Her only hope was that it was something she would not regret hearing.

 **Author's Note:** _Hey, hey, hey! So sorry about the silence. I've been working on the next batch of stories for this fic! Also, I was doing some research on cyberbullying so that I could make this story a little bit more interesting. This is part one and I hope you like it! :) As always, please read and review and ideas are always welcome. Bye bye! Canary out!_


	18. Cyberbully - Part Two

**StanfordBound2020: Trust me, I would have given those kids a hardcore assbeating. :( Bullying somebody is never okay! Poor Hope.**

 **Hope's P.O.V**

I was at home, seated on the living room couch, a box of tissues besides me. I was wiping away my tears which were just flowing with no end. School had sucked major ass today. Harassment and pranks had been the order of the day. I had brought this upon myself. Why, oh why, did I go to that stupid party? It had been like a butterfly effect, that catalyst which caused my life to become a living nightmare. I couldn't walk in the school hallways without those judgy stares following me or those horrible whispers and name-calling. Everyday, in my desk I would find an abusive note and my locker vandalized with one horrid name after the other spray-painted over it. I couldn't tell anyone about it; who would believe me anyway? I deserved to suffer for what I did, didn't I?

As I sat deep in thought, I heard the doorbell ring. I quickly dabbed my eyes with a tissue and went to the front door and opened it. Lo and behold, it was Cassandra and a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl I did not recognize.

"Hey, Hope," Cassandra greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Cassie," I replied unenthusiastically.

"May we come in?"

I stepped to the side to give them entry. They entered the house and I shut the door behind me. I tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear and licked my lips. I asked them, "So what brings you here?"

We sat on the couch and Cassandra replied, "Look, Hope. Um, Julian and I saw what the students at your school have been posting on your Board."

My eyes widened in shock and I stammered out, "You... You have?"

Cassandra nodded. I sighed. "So what? You tell my parents or something?"

"Actually, I wondered if you wanted to talk about it. There has to be the genesis of all of it, isn't there? That's why I brought a friend of mine, Jessica to talk to you. She's on the Student Council and she's a pretty good listener."

Jessica held out her hand in greeting and I shook it. Maybe talking to them wouldn't be so bad, would it? Having someone to listen to my side of the story would be a welcome change.

"Umm, okay," I agreed.

They waited patiently for me to begin the story of how the harassment began. I licked my lips and sighed. "Damn, this is so difficult to say."

Jessica put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, Hope. Take your time."

I nodded. "Well, it was a couple of weeks ago..."

 _(Flashback)_

"OMG, Hope! You have to come with us to the beach party this weekend!"

That was Alyssa, my best friend at school, pleading with me to take a break from my usual routine of staying home for the weekend.

"I don't know..." I trailed off.

"Come on, Hope. You can't keep locking yourself up in the house. Don't be such a buzz kill," Dana, my other best friend wheedled.

I licked my lips and tucked the stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Look guys, as much as I'd like to go with you, I'm not even invited..." I began but Dana interrupted me.

"Luckily, the party is for the entire school. So you don't have an excuse to stay in the house."

Dana and Alyssa gave me a triumphant smirk. There was no way out of this. I sighed and conceded. "Okay, fine. I'll come."

The duo cheered and hugged me. I smiled at their excitement. Apart from the fact that they had begged me to accompany them, there was another reason why I was going to the beach party. Asher Rollins. A junior. He was the richest and most handsome guy in school. I had had the longest crush on him and I knew that he would be there. Maybe I'd get a chance to talk to him at the party and get to be friends. Thing is, he had a girlfriend. But hey, can you blame a girl for trying?

That Saturday, Dana and Alyssa came by and made sure that I didn't worm myself out of going. They dressed me up in some tiny distressed shorts and a crop top with gladiator sandals. They did my make up immaculately and when I looked myself in the mirror, I was looking like a different person. Dana had her older brother drive us to the beach in the evening and I could feel the excitement in the air. It was contagious. We arrived and we could see the students from school all around; some dancing to the music, some talking nearby the snack table which had been set up, and some seated on logs making out. Yeah, not my scene but I could get behind it.

Dana and Alyssa dragged me to the snack table to get some drinks. While we were filling up our cups, two older looking guys came up to us. I'd seen them around before, they were juniors and they were pretty cute. They began chatting up Dana and Alyssa, completely ignoring me. Not that I was complaining though. I had my eye on only one guy at this party. I began sipping the punch and soon enough, my head was spinning. I needed to sit down somewhere, anywhere away from the music, the crowds and the laughter. I began walking on the beach and found myself a secluded place a slight distance away from the party. I sat down on the cool sand and just watched the waves on the sea and the slight breeze beat against my skin. It was really tranquil here. I was so absorbed in the scenery that I failed to notice when someone sat beside me on the sand. I only realized that when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin and then I froze. It was him. Asher. Oh. My. God.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked.

I looked at him at what seemed like an eternity before he raised an eyebrow at me and I nodded in response.

"Um, yeah. I just needed to be alone for a little bit," I replied.

"Not enjoying the party?"

"The party is awesome and all, but it's not really my scene, you know. I only came because my friends asked me to."

"Let me guess, you're a quiet girl who prefers to do art or something like that?"

He gave me a warm smile that made me light up inside.

"Pretty much, yeah." I smiled back.

"You have a cute smile," he complimented me. "Which reminds me, I never got your name."

I blushed at his compliment and looked down.

"I'm Hope. Hope Vega."

"Well, Hope Hope Vega, it's nice to meet you."

I laughed lightly at his joke and licked my lips softly. He had a sense of humour. I liked that. We began talking about anything and everything under the sun and I found myself more enamored by his charm and wit. I found myself looking at his lips once or twice. Maybe it was the punch; maybe it was me, I don't know. But I wanted to kiss him.

Then he asked me the million dollar question.

"How come such a pretty girl like yourself doesn't have a boyfriend?"

How was I supposed to answer? Was I just supposed to say, 'Hey, that's because I have it bad for you?' I had to play it cool.

"Um... That's because the guy I like happens to be dating someone else," I replied, not making eye contact with him and tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

He tilted my chin up so that we were making eye contact and ran a thumb across my cheek. His touch sent shivers across my body. He gave me a knowing smile and whispered, "We can do something about that."

He leaned in and our lips nearly met but I pulled back.

"Wait, aren't you dating someone?" I inquired. "Chelsea Reinhardt?"

"Don't worry about her," he murmured.

Maybe they'd broken up or something, so I wasn't doing anything wrong, was I? Our lips met in a soft and gentle kiss that made me melt. It increased in tempo and I was so happy inside. Everything was so magical. I could imagine a future where we were dating and in love. Little did I know that someone had been watching us on the beach and had been taking photos of the whole thing. And that's when my life became a fucking mess.

On Monday, I was walking down the hallway, a bounce in my step at the fact that I had finally gotten with the boy I liked. Stupid me. As I was walking, I noticed the groups that were huddled by the lockers were giving me filthy stares and were whispering as I walked. That was odd. I wasn't used to this type of attention and the stares were rather unnerving. I tried to ignore it and took my books out of my locker and rushed to class. As I sat down at my desk, my classmates were busy talking about the party and how epic it was. At one of the lockers, a group of girls were huddled around a phone and caught one of them saying, "This little skank could dare makeout with Asher! She's not even that pretty!"

My blood froze at this statement. Wait, what? Did everyone know? But I didn't do anything wrong. Chelsea and Asher weren't together anymore. I turned to look at them and they looked back at me with glares. One of them loudly said, "Whore."

Oh God. Before I could even say anything in my defense, the teacher came in for homeroom. I faced the front, my heart sinking in dread. The whole period, I couldn't even concentrate due to my worries. I hated the scrutiny that I was under. When I later went to the washroom, I heard some chatter from my cubicle.

"Like, oh my God. Hope is the biggest slut ever. You can ask like anybody," one random girl said.

That statement elicited some giggles. My eyes welled up with tears. These girls didn't even know me and they had already labeled me a slut. If you thought that was bad, my day was about to get worse.

At lunch time in the cafeteria, I went to my usual table where Alyssa and Dana were seated. They gave me apprehensive looks the moment I sat down. I narrowed my eyes the moment I saw the looks on their faces.

"What?" I inquired. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Is it true?" Alyssa asked. "Did you make out with Asher?"

"Hope, you know he has a girlfriend! How could you do that?" Dana scolded.

"Wow. You're already judging me without listening to my side of the story," I stated in a flat tone. "We only made out coz he said that he broke up with Chelsea. I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

The duo looked at each other and back at me. Alyssa then spoke, "I wish you could see the names they're calling us for being your friends."

"I'm sorry but I have never been called anything so horrid in my life," Dana piped up.

My heart broke a little bit at what they were implying.

My voice quivered a little bit. "So what are you saying?"

"We can't hang out with you anymore," Alyssa stated with finality in her voice.

They stood up with their lunch trays in hand and left me alone, tears streaming down my face. I wiped them with the sleeve of my jacket. But that wasn't even the icing on the cake.

"Hope! Hope Vega!" An angry voice called my name.

I turned around and I saw an angry Chelsea Reinhardt stomping towards me.

She stopped once we were face to face. The whole cafeteria hushed to see the drama unfold.

"So you think it's okay to just kiss my boyfriend and you think I wouldn't find out?" she hissed.

"Chelsea..." I tried to explain myself.

"Shut it, slutface! I don't wanna hear it!" she yelled, slamming her fist on my table.

She then took my plate of chilli cheese fries and smacked it on top of my hair and drizzled my glass of passion juice all over it. She topped it off with a slap to the face.

"Fuck you," she steamed and walked off.

The cafeteria burst out into laughter and I could see some people whip out their phones and begin taking pictures. I was so mortified that I was frozen. I couldn't move. I could only sit there saying that this was all my fault. Why did I have to go to that damn party? In the stream of one day, I had been labeled a whore, I had lost my friends and now, it was open season on Hope Vega.

 _(Present)_

At this point, I was sobbing and Cassandra put her arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Hush now, sweetheart. It'll be okay. It'll be alright," she whispered.

Jessica patted my back in comfort and handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my tears and blew my nose.

"I'm sorry. It's just..."

Cassandra murmured, "There's nothing to be sorry about."

Once I had calmed down, Jessica asked, "Have you told anyone else about this? Your parents or someone you trust?"

I snorted, "Hell, no. They wouldn't understand. They'll just take my computer and internet. Or even pull me out of Statton. Despite all that's going on, I love the program I'm in."

"Hope, you can't let this shit go on. This Chelsea girl and her cohorts are going too far," Cassandra said.

"And aren't they justified in doing so? I kissed Asher. As much as he said that he was no longer dating Chelsea..."

"Does Chelsea know that?"

"I tried explaining it to her but she wouldn't listen!"

"Then try again. If you want, I could go with you," Jessica offered.

I licked my lips apprehensively then I nodded my head. It wouldn't hurt to try, would it?

"Okay. Chelsea goes to a dance studio. Playground Seattle," I informed her.

"Great. Let's get a move on."

Cassandra, Jessica and I walked out of the house and I locked the door behind me.

"Good luck, kiddo," Cassandra said with a smile on her face. "Tell me how it goes."

"Will do," I nodded as I followed Jessica out the door.

 **Cassandra's P.O.V**

I watched Hope and Jessica drive off and I took my phone from my pocket and texted Julian to meet me at the bowling alley. I drove there and sat down at the snack bar and ordered two strawberry milkshakes. Fifteen minutes later, Julian came and sat down next to me.

"So did she tell you how it all started?" he asked as he took a sip of his milkshake.

"Yeah, and just listening to it has made me lose my faith in humanity," I responded with a grimace.

I told him all what Hope had told me and he scowled with each detail. Once I was done, he sighed sadly and I gave him a warm hug, one that he returned tightly.

After a few minutes, we separated and he asked, "Where is she now?"

"She's gone to talk to Chelsea. See if she'll listen to her and back off."

Julian raised an eyebrow at me. "Alone?"

"Vega, you truly have little faith in me. I wouldn't let her face that bitch alone. Jessica is with her."

Julian nodded in approval. "Then we'll just have to hope for the best then."

"Amen to that. Wanna bowl for a little bit?"

Julian shrugged, "Why not? It'll help me take my mind off of things."

 **A few hours later...**

Julian and I went back to his place and once we were in the house, we found a happy Hope waiting for us with Jessica seated next to her.

I beamed, "I take it that things went well?"

"Yeah. Weirdly enough, she didn't talk trash or anything. Just listened to my side of the story and promised to take all that crap off my Statton page," Hope informed us.

"That is good news, kid."

Julian smiled, "It's good to see you like this, sis."

He walked towards her and gave her a tight hug, which she returned.

"It's all over. It's all thanks to Cassandra and Jessica," she beamed. "Thank you all so much."

"My pleasure," Jessica replied.

Hope separated from Julian and reached into her bag in search of something. She frowned as she rummaged through it.

"That's odd. Has anyone seen my laptop? I could have sworn that it was in my bag," she inquired.

She ran to her room and came back a few minutes later, looking panicked.

"It's not there!" she cried out.

"Did you take it with you to the studio?" I asked.

"Yeah. But it was in my bag. The only time I put it down was when I was talking to Chelsea. Other than that, I can't imagine why it would disappear."

"Jessica and I can take you back to the studio and look for it," Julian offered.

"That'd be great," Hope agreed.

"I have to rush home, guys. Let's talk tomorrow, yeah?" I told them.

They nodded and we all walked out of the house, the trio going in one direction and I in another.

 **The next day...**

I was seated with Lance at breakfast scrolling through my phone as I had my cereal. Suddenly, a call from Julian came through. I picked it up and said, "Yo, 'sup, Vega? Talk to me."

"Could you come by my place? It's urgent!" he requested, sounding pissed off.

I frowned in concern, "Everything okay?"

"Just come by, you'll see."

I didn't like the sound of that but I figured I'd find out once I got there. I wolfed down the rest of my cereal and put the bowl in the sink.

"What's the rush, Tolah?" Lance asked.

"I have to get to Julian's house. It's a bit of an emergency," I replied.

"Okay, be safe."

"Always."

I ran out of the door, got into my car, put in drive and drove off to Julian's house.

 **Julian's P.O.V.**

I was seated on the couch with Hope sobbing on my shoulders. I was silent as I went through the feed on the Statton page. With every sentence I read, my faith in humanity just dropped. After a while, I heard a knock at the front door and I said, "It's open."

Cassandra came in and walked towards us and asked, "What's going on? Why's Hope crying?"

I didn't answer her. All I did was minimize the screen and showed her the wallpaper of the laptop. Cassandra put her hands over her lips and whispered, "Oh my God."

What she was looking at was a picture of Hope and Asher kissing with a black 'X' over her face and the words 'NICE TRY' on the screen.

Hope then spoke, "She lied! Chelsea lied when she said she'd take everything down. I thought she believed me! These posts are even worse than the initial ones. I can't believe that she would post that online."

"What did she post?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"You're gonna want to seat down and read, Cassie. It's going to be one heck of a day," I told her with a humorless smile.

"Ain't that the truth," she agreed.

She sat down besides me and we began perusing through Hope's Statton page to read what Chelsea had posted online.

 **Author's note:** _So, I'm back. :) I finally found the inspiration to write and get myself in order. As promised, the second part of Cyberbully. I felt so sad writing this as Hope is going through a lot of emotional torture, something no person should ever face regardless of whether they are at fault or not. The third part should be up soon. As always, please read and review. Ideas are always welcome. I also apologize for any grammatical errors or typos made. Bye bye! Canary out! :)_


	19. Cyberbully- Part Three

**StanfordBound2020: Yup. Those two are the worst type of friends. (face-palm). And on Chelsea stealing Hope's laptop, it reminds me of a joke I was told. "When a woman decides to get revenge, even the devil himself sits down to take notes."**

 **Julian's P.O.V**

So where were we last time? Cassandra and I seated on the couch with Hope crying on my shoulder; her laptop was opened in front of us and we were logged into her Statton page. Chelsea had posted some rather private information on the page. Wanna know what it was? Hope's diary for the last year. That's right.

Cassandra scrolled to the first entry and we began to read:

 _Here I am again, the same old situation_

 _Why does the guy thing have to be so complicated?_

 _I should've played it cool, instead I made a fool_

 _Oh, the things I do..._

 _Today, I promised myself that I was going to talk to him. Yes, him who made my heart beat. Him, who made my world spin. Every time that I see him, I think of him as perfection personified. Funny enough is, the moment I saw him walking down that hallway, I freaked out and ran into the classroom and hid like a fool. Silly Hope. Silly, silly girl._

We went to another entry:

 _The first time I saw him, I didn't know that he would constantly be on my mind. I didn't know that I would feel so incomplete all by myself. Hearing his voice, who knew that I would want to put it away, bottle it for a rainy day? I didn't know that I wanted to him to hold me so close, so close and so tight that our hearts would collide. But there it was. It happened. I don't know if it's that little four letter word or not, but I like this feeling; this feeling that makes you want to take on the entire world without a single care._

Another entry:

 _I don't buy it. A lot of people say that love doesn't exist anymore. All they say is that everything ends in heartbreak and that to hope for love is being naive. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But is it naive to want to be loved? Is it naive to want somebody to hold your hand and say 'I love you.'? Is it naive to think about somebody every morning when I open my eyes, every time I turn off the lights and every moment of my life? If that's the case, then I'll gladly be naive._

Hope's diary was full of beautiful drawings which served as decorations to her most private thoughts. And now they were open for the entire internet to read and make fun of. I looked over at Cassandra, who was deep in thought and was just scrolling down through the diary until she reached the end. Finally, she asked, "Do I want to see the comments made?"

I answered honestly, "That's up to you, Cassie."

She nodded and gingerly began scrolling down through the comments.

 **Cassandra's P.O.V.**

Reading Hope's diary was difficult enough. Those were her most private thoughts and they were now under scrutiny by the internet. Beautiful thoughts on falling in love and hoping for it, but nevertheless, it was no one's business. I scrolled down to the comment section with a grimace on my face and yup, the comments were vile alright.

'Hope is a fucking liar. This diary... Proof that she wanted Asher from day one.'

'I can't believe that little skank hooked up with Asher. Totally trashy. :('

'Bitch acts totally innocent but inside, she's just a dirty whore.'

'Fucking ugly whore. The world won't miss her if she dies.'

In all sincerity, I was numb as I read the comments. I eventually just shut the laptop and wrung my hands and exhaled.

"Julian, Hope's right. These comments are even worse than the others," I remarked.

"Yeah, no kidding," he agreed.

"I can't believe how stupid I was... I didn't even put a password on my laptop!" Hope sobbed as she sat up.

Julian shushed her and rubbed her arms with his hands in comfort.

"Hey, don't blame yourself, chica. You couldn't have known that someone would steal it."

"Still, I wish I could have protected myself a little better."

"You can't change the past, but you could tell us more about Asher."

Julian gave her warm smile, which she returned, albeit weakly. She sighed and wiped her tears with the sleeve of her sweater and took her laptop. She opened her gallery and pulled up a picture of him and showed it to us. I whistled. I would give credit where it was due. Boy was fine as hell. He had black, curly, messy hair that was covered in a brown hat, a cute baby face, chocolate skin, warm chocolate eyes that were hidden by glasses and soft-looking lips.

"I can see why you like him. Boy is fine," I remarked.

Hope giggled a bit. Julian shrugged, "Looks kinda like a loser to me. My opinion though."

Hope rolled her eyes at him. "Of course you wouldn't understand, Julian."

"What's that supposed to mean? Of course I understand. Thing is, he's taken. You have to move on."

Hope looked at him silently as he went on. "And about what these kids are writing? You need to find a way to block this shit out."

"Easier said than done. Do you think that it's easy for me to walk around school alone and knowing that every person who walks down that hallway hates me?"

"It's just words, Hope. It's not like they hit you."

She laughed humourlessly. "I wish they'd actually hit me and get it done with. Words have power, Julian. They have a way of making you feel like the most amazing person in the world or lower than the dirt beneath your feet. They mark you in a way that is very intimate."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am." She sighed and stood up. "Look, I need to get some rest. Thanks for being there, but I feel like crap right now. I'll be in my room."

She took her laptop and walked upstairs to her room. We watched her walk up dejected and heard the door to her room lock after a few seconds. I bit my lower lip and murmured," As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Words have power."

How would I know? I'd been bullied before I started up Avalon. I remembered those hurtful comments that my former classmates made about me; about my braces, my huge glasses, my pigtails and my love for computer games. Noone bothered to get to know me and they all just joined the 'Let's Make Fun of Cassandra' parade. But that was in another lifetime.

Julian squeezed my shoulder, which drew me out of my thoughts.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I gave him a weak smile.

Truth be told, I was hurting for Hope. I could feel her pain and my prayer was that she would be okay; that everything would be alright.

"Hey, Cass. Wanna play some Madden? Or I don't know, watch a movie or something? Chips, salsa and drinks on me," Julian suggested.

Mmmm. That was a tempting offer. And I could chill for a bit and be around if Hope needed me. I gave Julian a smile. "Madden sounds awesome right now. I'm game. Pun totally intended."

Julian laughed lightly and set up his Xbox and got some snacks from the kitchen. For the next hour, we were totally absorbed in the game. It was a welcome distraction from all the Statton drama. Once we were done gaming, we decided to watch the TV series 'Most Wanted.' Good shit.

 _A few hours later..._

As Julian and I were watching 'Most Wanted', I heard Hope calling from the stairs.

"Hey, Cass?"

I turned in the direction of the staircase and looked at her questioningly. She beckoned to me with one hand insistently. I looked at Julian, who gestured to me to go to her with a light squeeze of my shoulder with his hand, which was around my shoulders. I got up and walked over to where she was standing.

"What's up?" I asked casually.

"I need your help with something. Could we go up to my room, if you don't mind?"

I glanced over at Julian, who gave me a subtle nod. I looked at Hope and nodded.

"Sure thing."

We walked up the stairs to Hope's room, which was right next to Julian's room. She opened the door and I followed her in. Her room had a mahogany bed covered in yellow duvets and cream-coloured walls that were covered in hand-drawn pictures of birds in flight and flowers. On the right side of the room was a mahogany desk and seat with her laptop resting on top of the desk.

Hope sat on her bed and patted her left side in invitation. I sat beside her and she spoke, "I was thinking about this stuff Chelsea and company were writing about me and I thought that if I could get Asher to have them stop, I don't know, they'd back off?"

She sounded unsure and looked at me hopefully to get the go-ahead from me. Okay, let's be honest, I was not for this plan since the whole time, I hadn't seen any indicator that Asher was against what Chelsea was doing. To add insult to injury, he had been silent the whole damn time. But I believed in trying.

"I don't see why not. But are you sure he'll listen to reason?" I posed.

"Yeah. I believe he's a good guy. I think he's just misunderstood, you know?"

Right. I gave her a humourless smile. Her tone of voice was more of trying to reassure herself that it would be okay. I had to admire her optimism.

"Lemme IM him. Could you stay here with me as I do this? Make sure I type the right thing?"

I nodded. "Of course."

She walked over to her desk and opened her laptop and logged on to the Statton page and clicked on Asher's page and found him online.

"Looks like he's online." She exhaled. "Wish me luck."

I put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. She began typing:

 **Hope13** _Hey... have a few minutes to talk?_

 **Ash_Cash_1** _sure thing. sup?_

 **Hope13:** _Have you seen the stuff that Chelsea and her friends are writing about me?_

 **Ash_Cash_1:** _Yeah. Good shit. Pretty funny._

What the fuck?

 **Hope13:** _Funny? Are you serious?_

 **Ash_Cash_1:** _Don't get your panties in a twist. It's all good fun at the end of the day._

 **Hope13:** _Maybe it's all a joke to you. But you aren't the one who has to walk down those hallways with everybody hating on you._

 **Ash_Cash_1:** _Well, what the hell do you expect me to do about it?_

 **Hope13:** _I don't know, talk to them? Set the record straight about what happened at the party?_

 **Ash_Cash_1:** _Yeah, so here's the thing, sweetheart, there's no way in hell I'm getting involved in that girl drama._

My jaw clenched in anger.

"Don't let this idiot worm himself out of this easily," I growled.

 **Hope13:** _Please, I'm begging you. Say something to them so this can end and everything can go back to normal. Please. I lost my friends from this, I lost my reputation. Do something._

There was no immediate response. It was a tense few moments right there. Then her laptop binged with a response.

 **Ash_Cash_1:** _Like I said, girl drama. Not getting involved. I'm out._

Then the screen read, "You can no longer send messages to this user as you have been blocked."

"Damn," I swore.

I looked at Hope, whose eyes were still on the screen, tears flowing from them.

"I thought he cared about me. I actually thought he cared about me." Her voice quivered, her words oozing with hurt. It broke my heart to see her this way. "After we kissed at the party, I saw a future where we were dating and in love. Now it's clear I was deluding myself. Maybe I should do everyone at the school by disappearing."

"Hope, look at me," I requested.

She looked at me with her sad brown eyes.

"Don't say that. We're going to figure this out, okay?"

She nodded and wiped her tears with the sleeves of her jumper. She stood up and said, "I need some space right now. Thanks for being here but you've done enough for now."

I stood up and as I shut the door to her room, I saw her get into her bed. Little did I know that I was looking at somebody who was slowly being drained by life.

I went back downstairs and I found Julian looking at me expectantly for feedback.

I shook my head sadly and told him, "She needs some space."

Julian sighed and nodded. "I can't stand seeing her like this, Cass. Knowing that she's in so much pain but I can't do a damn thing about it. It's hurting me."

"You're wrong," I said simply. He gave me a confused look. "You can do something about it by being there for her. Tell her that you love her and that you care. Be there for her."

Julian slowly digested this and gave me a soft smile.

"Will do."

I smiled back. My only hope was that things would be okay.

 _A few days later..._

I was at the Jock Hangouts, rummaging through my bag for my water bottle after a rigorous workout. Julian walked in, looking stressed out.

I decided to skip the formalities and asked, "Julian, is everything okay?"

He gave me an exasperated look. "What do you think, Cass?"

I bit on my lower lip. "Right. Dumb question. Sorry."

Julian sighed and looked down. "No. I'm sorry. It's just...it's just that those online comments about Hope are worse than ever. She took a few days off school and you should have read those comments. They were along the lines of, 'Good.That little bitch is out of the picture. I hope I never see her ugly ass here again.' "

I grimaced. "Damn."

He continued, "Yeah. All she's doing right now is just staring off into space after looking at her laptop. It's really bad. It's like she's like a zombie."

"We need to do something about this. We can't let it go on."

"Yeah, we can go see home and check in on her," he suggested.

"No. We do that later. We need to go confront Chelsea once and for all. She's the only one who can get this to stop."

Julian looked at me in shock. "Are you crazy?"

I shrugged, "Maybe, maybe not. But it's time we confronted the dragon. Or what say you?"

Julian contemplated this for a few moments and nodded. "I'm with you, Cass."

I didn't waste any time. I put on my hoodie and grabbed my bag. This was going to be one heck of a showdown.

 **Author's note:**

 _And I'm back! :) Sorry about my prolonged absence, but all of a sudden, I was swarmed with school work and all. College can be a real bitch. I also had some gaming tournaments which took priority as well. Hopefully, you all enjoy this chapter. I had started working on it immediately after uploading the previous chapter but I never managed to get the time to finish up, but here we are now._ _This chapter, we get some insight into Cassandra's past and why she can relate to Hope's situation. Please read and review. Sorry for any grammatical errors made or any typos. Bye bye! Canary out! ;)_


	20. Cyberbully- Part Four

**StanfordBound2020: I didn't feel the need for anyone coming after Chelsea in this story. But I made sure Cass calls her out on it.** **And I am planning to do a backstory on Cass. :) And I will need your help on it. PM me for more!!**

 **Warning: This chapter contains some scenes pertaining to suicide. Kindly don't read if you are easily triggered.**

 _I folded my clothes, placed them in my drawer neatly and put a note on top of them. I wasn't recording a message. The internet had been the source of my suffering and I wasn't giving it a chance to screw me over. Not again. I dressed myself in an old hoodie, shirt and old skinny jeans. I grabbed a bottle of pills and placed it in my pocket. I walked to the my door and looked behind me, tears streaming down my face. I needed it to stop, I needed the pain to stop, I needed everything to stop. It was the last time I would be seeing this place._

 **Third Person P.O.V.**

 **At Playground Seattle**

Cassandra and Julian walked up the stairs, heading in the direction of the upbeat hip-hop music. Normally, Cassandra would be jamming to it, but right now, she was here on business. Serious business. They arrived at the door of the studio, opened it and found a group of dancers being led through some intense choreography by their instructor. They stood back and waited for the session to end. A few minutes later, the song ended and the instructor clapped her hands and announced, "And that's a wrap for today! See you here same time, next week!"

The group dispersed and Cassandra nudged Julian. It was time to move.

 **Cassandra's P.O.V.**

Once the class ended, I began looking for a blonde haired, blue eyed and tanned girl. Julian had shown me a picture of her and we began moving through the sea of dancers until we saw a mop of blonde hair moving to the other end of the room. We pushed our way until we reached her. Yup, it was Chelsea.

I cleared my throat and called, "Chelsea Reinhardt?"

She turned around, bottle of water in hand and raised an eyebrow in disinterest. "Yeah? What do you want?"

I began, "I'm Hope's friend..."

She cut me off, "Lemme guess, you're here to stop me from dissing her?"

I replied, "Yeah."

"Lemme tell you something, sweetheart. I'm just getting started. That little skank deserves everything that's coming to her."

Julian stepped in and growled, "Watch it. That's my sister you're talking about."

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "So? She started it by fooling around with my boyfriend. You saw her diary for the past year, didn't you? And she dares play victim. Pathetic."

I pursed my lips. "You're damn right I did. But don't you think that this has gone too far? She's a mess. She won't show up for her classes. She's barely eating her meals and she's spacing out. Is this really worth it?"

"Yeah, it is. It's worth every bit of pain and suffering that she caused me; trying to break Asher and I up."

"Didn't she tell you that Asher is the one who made a move on her?"

"Yeah, she did. But Asher told me that she was lying. I believe him. He's my boyfriend. Why would he lie to me?"

Julian and I looked at each other annd back at her. We were both mentally face-palming ourselves. Classic sheep syndrome. Before I could say anything else, Julian's phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

I licked my lips and looked at Chelsea who was glaring at me.

"Chelsea, there's something you need to know. It is said, 'For the person who seeks revenge against his enemy, let him dig two graves; one for his enemy and one for himself.'"

She started, "I don't believe in that Chinese fortune cookie shit..."

I raised up my hand to silence her. "Whether you want to believe it or not, that's up to you. But are you willing to go to jail over this?"

"Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a fact. I hope you are aware that it is a crime to harass, threaten and stalk somebody online. Add theft and violation of a minor's privacy to the list."

Chelsea opened her mouth to reply but before she could say anything, Julian grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. I looked at his face and saw worry etched all over his features.

I asked, "What's wrong?"

He replied, "It's Hope. She's gone."

"What?!"

He explained, "My mom went to her room to call her for dinner. She went in and found her gone. She tried calling her phone but she's not picking up her calls."

My heart sank at his words. Oh God. Hope in her current mental state could do something stupid. And she was all alone.

I told him, "We need to look for her, ASAP."

Julian nodded and we began walking to the door. Just before we opened it, Chelsea cried out, "Wait!"

We whirled around and Julian snapped, "What the hell do you want?"

"Let me come with you. I never wanted it to go this far. If something happened to her..."

"It'd be your damn fault. She asked you to stop it and you didn't listen..."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Jules, now is not the time. We need to get to your place and start looking for clues as to where she could be."

Julian clenched his jaw, but nodded his head and we walked out of the studio to the parking lot, leaving Chelsea behind.

 **Julian's P.O.V**.

Cassandra and I entered my car and I began driving like a maniac until we arrived at my house. I possibly violated several traffic laws but at this point, I didn't care. I was worried as hell for my sister. We entered the house and found my mom sobbing on the couch. I walked over to her and hugged her, rubbing her back.

"Hey Mom, don't worry, we'll find her," I whispered gently and smiled at her in reassurance. This was also for myself. I need to reassure myself that we'd find Hope.

She looked up at me then frowned, "Mijo, who's this?"

She was looking behind me and I realized that she was talking about Cassandra.

"Mom, this is Cassandra Sage-Beckett. She's going to be helping me look for Hope."

Cassandra walked up to her and held out her hand in greeting.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Vega, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

My mom shook her hand. I stood up and said, "Cassandra, let's go to Hope's room."

Cassandra nodded and we walked up the stairs to said room. We opened it and stepped inside. The room was as neat as ever; too neat if you asked me.

I instructed her, "Cass, we should split up. I'll take the bathroom, you'll take the bed and drawers."

I rushed to the bathroom to start looking for any clues that would give me insight into where Hope may be. I opened the cabinet and looked through the medicines. Everything seemed to be intact except one... Wait. Where were her sleeping pills? Last I checked, Hope was under prescription since she had trouble sleeping. My heart sank at the implications.

I heard Cassandra murmur, "Oh God." I walked out of the bathroom to where she was. "Julian..."

Her face was pale as she read a note that she held in her hand. She turned around and I took it from her and I began reading:

 _Julian,_

 _I'm so sorry but I can't do this anymore. I'm tired of hurting like this. I'm tired of the ache. I'm tired of those sleepless nights where I replay each word that just breaks my heart again and again. I want the pain to stop. No. I need the pain to stop. I'm going back to where all this began and there, I can get my release; my freedom. Don't look for me. Goodbye._

Jesus Christ. My head spun as I put two and two together. The pills were missing and now this note. She said she was going to where it began. That was the beach where the party had been held. Cassandra was eyeing me worriedly.

She called, "Julian?"

I didn't respond. Instead, I ran out of the room and down the stairs. My mom called out but I ignored her as well. I walked out the house with Cassandra following me until I opened the door to the car. Before I could step in, Cassandra slammed the door shut and shouted, "For God's sake, Julian! Could you please tell me what is going on?"

I swallowed and licked my lips. I quickly gave her a rundown of what I saw (or didn't see) in the bathroom and the implications. Her eyes widened and she said, "We need to go to the beach. Now."

I nearly opened the door only for Cassandra to hold my hand.

I gave her an impatient look only for her to shake her head and explain, "You're not exactly in the right state of mind, Julian. I'll drive."

I shrugged and went to the passengers seat. I sat down and took out my phone to call 911 as Cassandra put the car in drive and began driving for the beach.

 **Hope's P.O.V.**

I'd been walking numbly for what seemed like forever. I was silent and I had shut everything out. I was drowning and nobody would throw me a line. I had been robbed of my confidence and self-worth and felt unworthy of anyone's love. I was calling myself names and had these awful thoughts that wouldn't leave. I wanted it to stop. I was done fighting. I was done with this struggle that had drained me of life.

After an eternity of walking, I arrived at my destination. I was at the beach. I walked further until I was at a cliff where the waves lapped its sides. I could feel the spray of the sea on my face and the wind tugging on my hair. I pulled my bottle of pills from my pocket and looked at it intently. My heart was pounding against my ribcage. I steeled myself and twisted the cap off, except that, it wouldn't open. I struggled to open the cap.

I swore. "Damn it, open up! Open up!"

After a few exerting grunts, it finally relented. I poured out a handful of pills, way more than the recommended amount. Before I could swallow them up, a strong hand stopped me and knocked the pill bottle into the ocean.

"What..."

 **Cassandra's P.O.V.**

The moment we arrived at the beach, Julian ran out of the car like a maniac. We ran towards the cliff where Hope was likely to be. Moments later, we saw a hooded figure grunting and struggling with something in their hands. Julian ran up to her and grabbed her hand.

She turned around in surprise and saw Julian looking at her with anguish in his eyes.

He asked, "What the hell are you doing, Hope?"

She struggled against him valiantly, but to no avail.

"Let me go, Julian! Let me go!" She cried.

"I'm not letting you go! Not now, not ever!"

"Why? Please let me go! I just want to die! Nobody gives a damn about me!"

"That's because you're my sister and I love you!"

Her struggles decreased as tears flowed down her face and she slumped down on the ground in resignation. She began sobbing and soon, she was bawling. Julian drew Hope close to him and she lay my head on his chest. He was heaving heavily and his tears wet her hair. He stroked her hair in comfort and whispered, "I love you, Hope. We're going to get you all the help you need."

I could hear the sounds of a siren drawing near and a few minutes later, a group of paramedics were near us. They came close with a stretcher and one of the paramedics kneeled down and injected Hope with something that made her calm down and soon her eyes fluttered shut.

"It's a sedative," he explained to us as his colleagues placed her on a stretcher. "She's been through a lot of stress and she'll need the rest."

They took her to the ambulance and Julian and I watched wordlessly.

 **Author's note:** _So, another part is up! This was a difficult chapter to write. Sorry if the ending seems rushed but I didn't know how to iron it out properly. I wanted to put in Chelsea's confrotation with Asher but that will be for the next chapter. I didn't want to lengthen this chapter. Hope you like it! :) Bye bye! Canary out!_


	21. Cyberbully- Part Five

**StanfordBound2020:** **Talk about awesome timing. As for Chelsea, that much you said about her is true. Why feel bad only when you realize the serious ramifications that your actions may have on another individual? That is just wrong and I honestly hate that as well. I do however, want to give her a sort of chance at redemption**.

 **For this story, I had a bunch of songs in mind that you should listen to as you read. It may put you in the zone and give you more of a perspective on the characters:**

 **1\. The Hospital Scene- Take Me Home by Jess Glynne.**

 **2\. The Confrontation- Smoke and Fire by Sabrina Carpenter.**

 **3\. The Flashback- I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young.**

 **You can also try listening to other songs that you may feel fit the mood of each scene in the story and holla. I will listen to them as well. ;) On with the show!**

 **At the Hospital...**

Cassandra and Julian had been seated at the hospital lounge for God knows how long. Exhaustion and worry were written all over their faces. And who could blame them. It had been a hectic few weeks filled with drama and right about now, Cassandra didn't mind having a rest. She glanced over at Julian, who was hunched over, his hands clasped together as if in prayer. Her heart reached out for him. He had nearly lost his little sister. His mom was speaking with the doctor in one of the therapy rooms. It had also been a trying experience for her and they now needed to figure out the way forward.

The silence was unbearable for Cassandra. She was going mad with worry for Julian and she finally broke the loud silence with a question.

"Hey, you okay?"

Dumb question. Julian looked at her and scoffed. "What the hell do you think, Cass? Of course I'm not okay."

Cassandra winced at her poor choice in question. But she was soon surprised when Julian's expressionless demeanor changed. She could see his heart break and he began sobbing with tears flowing down silently. All the worry and sadness came crashing through.

His voice was hoarse as he spoke, "I failed her, Cass. I failed my little sister. She thought nobody cared about her." His shoulders heaved as all his emotions came crashing through. "What would have happened if we hadn't found her in time? She would've..."

"Ssssh..." She whispered in comfort. Cassandra kneeled before him and silently wiped his tears with her thumb. She rubbed his back comfortingly and his breathing slowly became normal.

Cassandra then tipped his chin up and said, "Julian, there's no need to dwell on the past. We're here now and Hope will be okay. She'll be alright."

Cassandra gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back in return, albeit a watery one. Just then, Mrs. Vega and the doctor got out of the therapy room and were speaking in hushed voices and finally the doctor put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Cassandra and Julian stood up as she walked towards them.

"The doctor says that the sedative will wear off in a few. It might do her some good if she had some familiar faces around her," Mrs. Vega informed them. "She's also been put in a therapy program for teens struggling with depression and anxiety."

Cassandra shuffled her feet. "Okay, I think I'd better go home. Julian, keep me informed of her progress, okay?"

"Actually, Cassandra. I was hoping that you'd stay. Julian tells me that you've been such a good friend to her and she might appreciate seeing you there." Mrs. Vega requested, giving her a hopeful smile. Julian gave her look that asked for her presence. He couldn't do this alone. Cassandra thought about this. She was honestly and truly emotionally drained from all this, but then again, the Vegas needed her help. She wasn't the type to refuse to give assistance whenever it was required of her. She looked at them and nodded. "Okay then."

Mrs. Vega flashed a genuine smile at her. "Thank you, my dear. Let's go to her room."

She began leading the way to Hope's room. Just as Cassandra was about to follow her lead, Julian held her hand to stop her. "Hold up, Cass."

Cassandra turned to look at him. "What's up?"

She was surprised when Julian wrapped her arms around her in a tight and firm hug. She stood still for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his neck. "What's this for?"

"For everything. You didn't have to help me with Hope and yet you did. You're a rare type of friend, you know that?"

Cassandra smiled. "There are no thank-yous between friends, Julian. I did what any person should do."

"Still, thank you."

They stayed like that for a little while before breaking apart following Julian's mom to Hope's room. They walked down the hallway and took a right and walked to the farthest room. Room 308. They walked in and saw Hope on the hospital bed. She was still sedated but would soon wake up as they had been informed. She was dressed in a hospital gown and her breaths were coming out slowly and gently. Cassandra looked at her face and it had been the most relaxed that she had seen her in a while. Mrs. Vega drew a seat that was near the bed and sat down. She took Hope's still hand in her own and gently caressed it and shut her eyes as if in prayer. Julian took two seats and put them next to his mom. He sat down besides her and Cassandra sat next to him. They sat in silence for a while before Mrs. Vega spoke gently, "When you first came into my life, mija, I was so scared because you were so tiny. I was always afraid that something would happen to you. It's funny because it wasn't my first rodeo as a parent. But you always looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes and I always wanted to keep you close to make sure nothing happened to you. That is what a parent is always worried about; that their child will always be in harm's way. They do whatever they can to make sure that their child is always protected. But sometimes, it's never enough."

Julian looked at his mother and saw tears welling up her eyes before she continued, "I almost lost you, mija. I don't know what I would have done without you..."

Julian put his hand on her shoulder in comfort. Cassandra looked at Hope and noticed her shifting slightly before she opened her eyes slowly. Mrs. Vega gasped and stood up quickly.

"Mija!" She cried and hugged her daughter firmly.

Hope groaned gently at her mother's firm hug that nearly choked her. "Mom, I'm okay, unless you want me to fall unconscious again."

Mrs. Vega chuckled. "I'm sorry. I'm just happy that you're okay."

Hope smiled gently and looked at the others. She sat up and gave an appreciative smile at their presence. "Thanks for being here, you two."

Julian stood up and said, "Of course I'd be here. There's no where else I'd rather be, Hope."

Cassandra retained her seat but gave Hope a genuine smile. "Your folks thought it'd be a good idea if I was here. It's good to see that you're okay."

"They were right. I'm glad you're here with me Cassandra." Hope's demeanor suddenly changed. Her eyes moistened with tears and soon, she began sobbing. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that all of you are here. I'm sorry that I had to put you through all of this. I just wanted the pain to end. I'm..."

Julian hugged her and murmured, "It's okay, Hope. There is nothing to apologize for. You're here now and we promise to get you the help you need. You're going to get through this and we're going to help you. We all want to help you and it's going to be okay."

Hope sobbed into her brother's chest and clung to him tightly. Never letting go. Not once. Her mom sat on the bed and kissed her hair soothingly and stroked it. Cassandra could only watch silently as tears fell down her face as well. Hope finally let go of Julian and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She looked up and was about to speak when she stopped cold and looked at the door.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Cassandra was confused and she turned around and saw what Hope was talking about. It was Chelsea. Tears were streaming down her face and she looked anxious.

Julian folded his arms across his chest and said, "Good question. What are you doing here, Reinhardt?"

"I'm not here to diss Hope or anything of the sort. I just want to talk."

Julian muttered, "Kinda late for that."

Mrs. Vega spoke up, anger in her voice. "You should be lucky that I haven't considered pressing charges for harassment, young lady. I'm leaving that for my daughter to decide."

Chelsea looked up at the ceiling in an effort to stop more tears from streaming down her face and sighed. "I don't blame you if you want to press charges against me. I deserve that." She looked at Hope. "And I deserve nothing less. I have been nothing but hostile to you and I made your life at school a fucking nightmare. I thought that you were a vile person for trying to take my boyfriend from me and I thought you deserved nothing less. Little did I know that there are two sides to every story. I'm going to confront Asher right now and I want you to know that I'm going to get the truth from him. And I am so sorry from making you go through all this. You don't have to forgive me but I really am sorry. It's about time I moved on."

Chelsea walked out and Cassandra decided to follow her. As she was about to step out the door, Julian called her. "Cass, where you going?"

Cassandra replied without looking back, "Gimme a minute."

Cassandra ran after Chelsea who was walking quickly towards the doors of the hospital, face down and not looking up. Cassandra called her name. "Yo, Chelsea!"

Chelsea was just about to step out the doors when she heard Cassandra call her name. She looked up and turned around. She eyed Cassandra warily and asked, "What do you want?"

Cassandra slowed to a stop and asked, "Were you serious when you said you're going to confront Asher about this whole incident?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. He's having a party tonight at this place. I figured that I'd finally get the truth out of him once and for all."

Cassandra smiled. "Good. Then I'm coming with you."

"Are you for real or what?"

"I'm serious. I need to ensure that he doesn't try worming himself out of this mess."

Chelsea looked her up and down before conceding and nodding. They walked out the hospital together and on to Chelsea's car. Cassandra shot a text to Julian:

'Hey, I'm going with Chelsea to confront Asher.'

A few seconds later, Julian replied:

'I'd come with you, but I want to stay with Hope. I'm not leaving her side.'

'Tell me how she'll be, okay?'

'Sure thing. Be careful.'

'Always. :)'

Cassandra slipped her phone into her pocket and entered the car and slipped into the passenger's seat. Chelsea got into the driver's seat and started the engine. The car rumbled to life and so began their journey to Asher's house. It was a slightly awkward journey made in mostly silence since Cassandra and Chelsea weren't exactly friends. But Cassandra soon had a question.

"Hey, Chelsea. How'd you exactly know that Hope was in the hospital? It's not exactly public knowledge."

Chelsea looked at her with the corner of her eye. "I followed you guys after a while when you left me in the dance studio. I went to Julian's house to help you guys when I saw Mrs. Vega walking out the house. She mentioned the hospital and so I put two and two together."

That made sense. Cassandra nodded her head and the rest of the drive was in silence.

 _(Time Skip)_

After a while, the duo were in front of Asher's house. It was in an affluent neighbourhood and they could hear music booming from the large, two story mansion. They got out of the car and walked towards the door where there was a group of guys chilling with cups of punch in their hands. Cassandra and Chelsea stood in front of the door and they faced each other.

"You ready to do this?" Cassandra asked her.

Chelsea took a deep breath and sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

They walked inside, which was packed with guests; some of who were dancing to the music, others seated and playing games and others drinking. As they searched for Asher, a group of girls came towards them excitedly. One of them squealed excitedly, "OMG! Chels! You're here!"

The girl gave her a once over and frowned. "Wait a minute! You're not dressed."

Chelsea replied, "That's because I'm not here to stay. Have you guys seen Asher?"

The girl replied, "He's over by the mini-bar. But..."

The duo walked away without another word, leaving the group alone and dumbfounded. They walked to the mini-bar and true enough, they found Asher, signature hat and playboy smile standing, drink in hand. He was talking to another girl, who was looking down shyly and laughing at whatever he had just said. Cassandra tapped the shoulder of the girl and she looked at them.

"Scram." Cassandra growled, pointing her thumb to the door. The girl saw their faces and she decided not to argue after seeing their deathly glares. She quickly ran off.

Asher gave them a sly smile and hugged Chelsea. "Hi, babe. Glad you made it."

Chelsea didn't hug him back as she remained as stiff as a board. She gave him a serious look. "I need to talk to you about Hope."

Asher rolled his eyes. "Are we seriously going to talk about that cry baby tonight?"

"Yes, we are. She told me that you made the first move on her."

"Are you fucking serious? That little bitch is the one who made the first move on me! And why do you care all of a sudden?"

Cassandra stepped into his face and growled, "Watch that tongue, pretty boy. That's my friend you're talking about."

Chelsea gently dragged her away from Asher and murmured, "I'll handle this."

She turned and faced him. "I care since I came from the hospital. Hope tried committing suicide. And all because of the mean stuff I said to her. And looking back, I think that you lied to me."

Asher wasn't fazed at all by the statement about Hope's attempted suicide. "That girl is trying to break us up. Can't you see? She's a fucking liar."

"Oh yeah? If that's the truth, then who was that girl you were with a couple minutes ago?"

Asher was dumb-struck at this question. He gulped and then quickly recovered. "It's either you believe her or me, your boyfriend."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Asher remained quiet and Chelsea gave him a humourless smile. "That's what I thought. We're done, Asher."

Asher retorted, "Oh yeah? You do that and you're done. The only reason that you were popular was because of me!"

"Well, I don't give a fuck anymore!"

Chelsea grabbed his cup of punch and splashed it in his face. Cassandra felt a surge of satisfaction at the look on his face. Poetic justice. The surrounding guests were shocked at the drama before them and murmurs filled the air. Chelsea grabbed Cassandra's hand and said, "Let's get out of here."

The duo began walking away and Asher had to have the last word. He yelled at their retreating backs. "You know, I can get with any girl in this school!"

Chelsea yelled back, raising her middle finger in the air. "Go ahead and do just that, Rollins!"

"You just made the wrong enemy!"

They ignored him and walked out the door and back to the car. They entered the car and Chelsea slammed the door and punched the steering wheel.

"Fuck!" she yelled.

She ran a hand through her blonde locks and looked up, breathing heavily. She murmured, "I can't believe I just did that. A huge part of my life revolved around Asher. I didn't want to believe that he was a toxic person 'coz I thought I was in love. Stupid me. I was deluding myself so that I wouldn't see the truth that was right in front of me."

Cassandra looked at her and told her, "For what it's worth, I think it was badass."

"Well, yeah. I just essentially committed social suicide. Knowing Asher, he has enough pull to make my life a living nightmare. Cost of doing the right thing, I guess."

She looked at Cassandra and sighed. "It's been a long day. Let's get you home."

"Will you be okay?"

"Eventually."

She put the car in drive and drove off into the night.

 ** _Epilogue..._**

 ** _A few weeks later..._**

Cassandra parked her car in the parking lot of the mall and got out. She was going to meet up with Hope, who had wanted to see her. It had been a while since all the cyber bullying drama and she wanted to catch up on things. She walked into the mall and went to the bowling alley. At the 50s-style counter, she could see a familiar mop of chocolate brown hair who had two milkshakes in front of her. Cassandra walked up to her and greeted, "Hey, Hope."

Hope turned around and smiled. She leaped off the counter and gave Cassandra a tight hug. She pulled away and Cassandra observed that she was looking better. Much better. They both sat down. Cassandra said, "It's been a couple of weeks. How have you been?"

Hope replied, "Things are as okay as can be. Still going to therapy and all. Learning to be stronger. Learning to be better."

Cassandra asked, "How were things after you were discharged?"

Hope gave her a wry smile. "Not so hot..."

 ** _(Flashback)_**

Mrs. Vega arrived at a clinic just at the outskirts of their neighbourhood. Hope folded her arms and had been silent the whole journey. She took a few deep breaths and finally spoke. "I don't know why you're making me do this. I don't want to go."

Mrs. Vega said wearily, "This is no punishment, Hope. It's a support group for you. So that you can talk about what you've been through."

"I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"You don't have to talk about it. Just go and listen to what they have to say. We can't keep acting like this incident did not happen, mija. You need help and there is nothing wrong with needing help. It's scary seeing you in this pain and I am scared to death of seeing something like this happening again." Her voice cracked as the emotions came crashing through. "You have so much life to live, mija. Your life is precious and is worth a lot. Please..."

She began sobbing and Hope finally conceded. "Okay, Mom. I'll go."

Hope stepped out of the car and shut the door, leaving her mom alone, who at this point was crying and had her face buried into her hands. Hope walked into the building and was directed down a hallway where the session was taking place. She stood in front of the imposing door, sighed and walked in. The voices that she heard stopped as everyone looked her way. A friendly older man with black hair and warm blue eyes stood up and welcomed her. "Hi, Hope. Welcome. Have a seat."

She nervously smiled at him and sat down in an empty chair and looked around at the faces in the room. They were all high school kids who, Hope thought, must have been going through some trying times as well. She didn't know what she had to offer here. But as her mom had suggested, she didn't have to speak, only listen. Hope sat down and listened as one of the students, a plump girl narrated her experiences, "Everyday, I walk down those halls, it's all about being made fun of. 'Hey, there goes Fatty Tessie.' Stuff along those lines. It sucks. But when I go home, I get some relief. But how wrong I am. The internet has made it possible for this stuff to make it home with you. Anytime I open my Facebook page, it's those horrid, harassing messages. It sucks. There are days I wish that I don't wake up in the morning, you know? It sucks..."

Her heart ached for this girl. She'd been there and she understood. Then she heard another oration from one of the other students. He was transgender: "The worst part is having your words used against you. There was a guy I liked and I poured out my heart to him; told him a bunch of personal stuff. I thought he liked me. I though he cared. He sent out my messages to a group of guys. They began re-enacting my texts and started calling it 'The Tranny Show'. The worst part about it, as Tessie said, is when it follows you home. How is that someone who you don't even know tells you that they despise your existence just because you happen to be transgender? It's 2018 for God's sake and how is it hurting anyone?"

Another girl chimed in, "I would post mean shit on their pages. Sometimes, you need to even things out a little bit."

The director put in, "Well, you can become the bully. And maybe that will make you feel better, even just for a little while. But vengeance is never the way to go. How many of you have left mean messages on a bully's social media page?"

A good number of the people in the room raised their hands. The director then continued, "Sometimes, silence is the best weapon. Never show the bully that they are getting to you..."

Hope listened intently to his words. And she felt something that she hadn't felt in a while; hope. Hope that things would get better. Hope that everything would be okay. She smiled, feeling peaceful in that moment.

 _(Time skip)_

It had been two weeks of therapy for Hope and she finally decided that it was time to get back to school. Her mom had been reluctant to let her go back and thought that she needed more time. But Hope felt that she was strong enough. They were discussing this over breakfast before Hope left for school.

"The director said that I can't allow the bullies to have power over me. It's about time I walked that talk."

Her mom smiled at her. "When did you become so wise, mija?"

Hope laughed. "It's been a long time coming, Mom."

"Then I will have Julian dropping you off and picking you up from school. And you will continue with your therapy sessions."

Hope wanted to argue but then thought better about it. Her mom needed assurance that she would be okay. That wasn't too bad. She nodded and walked out the door and waited for Julian to come and drop her off. During the drive to school, she was nervous about experiencing her first day back since the incident. She did not know how her classmates would react to her presence. But Julian assured her that everything would be okay.

"If anything is wrong, you can reach out to me, Mom, Dad or Cass. We're here for you, kiddo."

They arrived at Statton and Julian gave her a tight hug. "You can do this, kid. Stay safe."

Hope nodded and got out of the car and stepped into the school. In the hallways, she could feel all the stares and hear all the whispers as she walked to her locker to get her books. She heard the occasional 'slut' and 'whore' being dropped but she no longer cared. She was stronger and she would be fine. As she walked to her class, she heard a group whispering and laughing about her attempted suicide. "Man, I actually thought that she was done at this school. But we can't always get what we want."

Those words stung but Hope remembered why she was back in school; for herself and to show these bullies that she was stronger and better; Hope 2.0. She breathed and walked off to her class wordlessly. The bell rang for her lessons and she attended them without much drama going on.

At lunch, she was wondering where she would sit. She had her lunch tray in hand when she spotted Chelsea seated at a table in the corner. Normally she would have been surrounded by her cronies but this time, she was all alone. Hope remembered what Julian told her about what Chelsea and Cassandra had done. Hope felt sad for her. She had thrown away her reputation and was now suffering the consequences of doing the right thing. She knew what it was like to be a pariah and decided that she would eat lunch with her. Hope walked to her table and sat down across her. Chelsea looked at her in surprise and then eyed her warily.

"Um...hey. What are you doing here?" she asked.

Hope gave her a light, genuine smile. "I heard about what you did at Asher's party. I thought you might need a friend."

"It was nothing, really. Just something I had to get off my chest."

Hope reached for Chelsea's hand and held it. "Still, that was honestly brave of you. Thank you."

Chelsea looked at her and smiled. "You're welcome, I guess. Not everyone seems to appreciate doing the right thing. I've been alone for the past couple of weeks and I've been getting all these harassing messages on my page." She shrugged helplessly. "They say karma's a bitch and now I understand that. I deserve it and more."

"No." Hope said with conviction in her voice.

Chelsea looked at her, surprised. "No?"

"You heard me. Nobody deserves to go through that emotional torture, regardless of their mistakes. We all make mistakes and that is what makes us human. I won't allow you to go through the crap I went through."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're going to forward this to Principal Hawkins."

"Are you for real? What if it gets worse?"

"We won't know unless we try. Besides, Asher and his cronies are violating the law and unless he wants to have a taste of juvie, he's going to back off."

Hope gave her a look that exuded confidence and Chelsea couldn't help but feel the same. She nodded her head and they quickly ate their lunches and went to Hope's locker and grabbed her laptop. They soon logged into Hope's page and took screenshots of all the harassing messages that she had been receiving after her incident and then went on to Chelsea's page. They saved the evidence on a flash drive and went on to print it out in the computer labs. They decided after school, they'd go to the principal and report Asher for harassment and cyber bullying.

 _(After school)_

Hope and Chelsea were seated outside the principal's office waiting for their turn to come. They were nervous but they held each other's hands to give each other courage. They'd be okay. They'd be fine. They were doing the right thing. Even if it wouldn't make all the harassment go away, it would make most of it stop. A telephone rang and the secretary picked it up and nodded her head to whatever the person on the other end was saying. She then hung up and looked at the duo. "Principal Hawkins will see you two now."

They looked at each other and nodded. It was the moment of truth. They stood up and walked over to the mahogany door and one of them knocked. They heard a brisk ,"Come in" and they opened the door and stepped inside.

 _(The Present)_

Hope stopped her narration and saw that Cassandra was hooked on her every word.

Cassandra was itching for more details. "So, how'd that go?"

Hope smiled mysteriously as she took a sip of her milkshake. "Well, let's just say it went fine."

It went more than fine. They had kicked ass and taken names.

"Principal Hawkins saw everything and was appalled by what he had seen. He assured us that he was going to take care of the entire matter and apologized to us for having to go through such a thing. The next day, we were called down to the office and Asher was there with a cop and the principal. We were told that Asher was going to be put on probation for being a first time offender and that if it goes on, they were going to press charges against him. He also had to write an apology letter and make sure that his cronies stop harassing us. Moreover, he was to stay the hell away from us."

Cassandra raised her hand for a high-five and remarked, "Look at you; kicking ass and taking names. That was pretty badass, Hope."

Hope blushed as she returned the high-five and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. "Thanks. I guess going for therapy was a pretty good idea. Chelsea decided that she would be attending as well."

"So you two are friends now?"

"Well, yeah. She's changed a lot and I don't like to hold grudges, It'll just make me sad and cold for nothing and I don't want hatred to consume me and become this old, gnarled root. I want to move on and from this and become better each day. I want to take it one step at a time. One day after the other, you know?"

Cassandra held her hand and beamed, "That's right, Hope. One step and one day at a time."

 **Author's note:** _Aaaaand it's a wrap for Cyberbully! This was my take on how the event's of Hope's story went. It was weeks of brainstorming, writer's block, real life interference and emotional roller coasters. But I'm finally done and I hope this final chapter was awesome. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review. I hope to get started on the next batch of stories as soon as I can. Bye bye! Canary out! :)_


	22. Teaser

**Guess who's back? (Sorta...) Consider this a sneak peek of the next chapter. And Avalon gets a new student at the end of this chapter! Guess who? ;)**

"Okay, okay," Payton gave in. "We're here because, well it's been a while since we did something together as a group."

"Not exactly. There was the Play, the Science Fair, the Basketball Game, Hearst Heist, and the Carnival..." Nishan began.

"OMG! I mean something that didn't involve saving our school or committing several felonies in the process!" Payton said in an exasperated tone. "I mean something fun that'll get us bonding more."

Cassandra asked, "What'd you have in mind?"

Payton's face lit up. "Two words. Open mic."

Wes murmured, "Technically, that's four words."

Payton ignored his remark and went on. "There's an open mic event at Lord of the Fries and I thought that it'd be an awesome idea for us to bond over fries and music."

Sakura looked away from the game which she had been playing behind Cassandra's back and scowled. "Whoa! Not all of us are music geeks. I prefer listening to original video game soundtracks, not performing in front of a live audience."

Payton smirked. "Then you'll listen and support those of us who are performing."

Sakura sighed and conceded. The others nodded in agreement. Cassandra didn't exactly mind but she had this whole other plan.

"Payton, see I sort of had this..."

Payton looked at her with the most adorable pout in pleading. Cassandra stopped mid-sentence and sighed. "Fine. We'll go."


End file.
